I Prefer Roses, My Love, To My Country

Here is a poem written by Fernando Pessoa, under the guise of Ricardo Reis:

Prefiro rosas, meu amor, à pátria,
E antes magnólias amo
Que a glória e a virtude.

Logo que a vida me não canse, deixo
Que a vida por mim passe
Logo que eu fique o mesmo.

Que importa àquele a quem já nada importa
Que um perca e outro vença,
Se a aurora raia sempre,

Se cada ano com a Primavera
As folhas aparecem
E com o Outono cessam?

E o resto, as outras coisas que os humanos
Acrescentam à vida,
Que me aumentam na alma?

Nada, salvo o desejo de indif’rença
E a confiança mole
Na hora fugitiva.


I prefer roses, my love, to my country,
And I love magnolias
More than glory and virtue.

As long as life does not weary me,
I let life pass me by,
As long as I can stay the same.

What does it matter when nothing matters to me,
That one wins and another loses.
As long as the sun rises each day.

As long as each year in the Spring time,
The leaves burst forth
And in Autumn shrivel and die?

And all the other stuff and nonsense
That humans add to life,
What do they add to my soul?

Nothing, except a craving for indifference,
A soft faith and a sweet trust
In the fleeting hour.