Like the weary sailor, the refugee
from wreck and storm, who escapes half-dead,
and then, in terror, shudders with dread
at the very mention of the name of the “sea”;
who swears he’ll never sail again, who raves
he’ll stay home, even on the calmest days,
but then, in time, forgets his fearful ways,
and seeks, again, his fortune above the waves;
I, too, have barely escaped the storms that revolve
around you, my love, traveling far away,
vowing to avoid another catastrophe,
but I can’t; the thought of you breaks my resolve,
and so, I return to where, on that fateful day,
Inearly drowned in your tempestuous sea.
—Luís de Camões (1524/25–1580)
Translated from the Portuguese by William Baer
Sin
Happy is he whose only problem worth
complaining about is love’s audacious schemes,
since they alone can never destroy his dreams
of finding some contentment here on earth.
Happy is he who, far from home, embraces,
sadly, only his fondest memories
because, despite his isolation, he sees
and clearly comprehends the sorrow he faces.
Happy is he who lives in any state
where only fraud and love’s deceits and doubt
are able to torture his heart from within.
But tragic is he who lives beneath the weight
of some unforgivable act, living without
consciousness of the damage of his sin.
—Luís de Camões (1524/25–1580)
Translated from the Portuguese by William Baer
Dead Lovers
Happy young lovers, who’ve ascended together
into the heavens of Venus and of Love,
where joys, so brief on earth, will now, above
this world, endure forever and forever.
Your happy hours on earth, once undermined
only by their vexing brevity,
are now exchanged for a perfect peace that’s free
from all disruptions and fears of any kind.
But sad is he, who lives on earth in vain,
still trapped in love’s entanglement, whose grief
increases with love and its inexorable strife.
Sad am I, for my pain brings no relief,
and Love, just to intensify my pain
and wound me more, prolongs my useless life.
—Luís de Camões (1524/25–1580)
Translated from the Portuguese by William Baer
Image by Francesco Salviati licensed via Creative Commons. Image cropped.
