Fernando Pessoa

[greenstorm]

To See the Fields and the River

To see the fields and the river
It isn’t enough to open the window.
To see the trees and the flowers
It isn’t enough not to be blind.
It is also necessary to have no philosophy.
With philosophy, there are no trees, just ideas.
There is only each one of us, like a cave.
There is only a shut window, and the whole world outside,
And a dream of what could be seen if the window were opened,
Which is never what is seen when the window is opened.

I Lie Down in the Grass

I lie down in the grass
And forget all I was taught.
What I was taught never made me any warmer or cooler.
What I was told exists never changed the shape of a thing.
What I was made to see never touched my eyes.
What was pointed out to me was never there: only what was there was there.

This Morning I Went Out Very Early

This morning I went out very early,
Because I woke up even earlier
And had nothing I wanted to do.

I didn’t know which way to go,
But the wind blew hard to one side,
And I followed in the way it pushed me.

So has my life always been, and so would I like it always to be –
I go where the wind takes me and don’t need to think.