Before I Had You

     from The Shepherd in Love

Before I had you
I loved Nature as a calm monk loves Christ.
Now I love Nature
As a calm monk loves the Virgin Mary,
Religiously (in my manner), like before,
But in a more heartfelt and intimate way.
I see the rivers better when I walk with you
Through the fields to the riversʾ banks.
When I sit next to you and watch the clouds
I take better notice of them.
You havenʾt taken Nature from me,
You havenʾt changed Nature.
Youʾve brought Nature closer.
Because you exist I see it better, though the same as before.
Because you love me I love it in the same way, but more.
Because you chose me to have you and love you
My eyes attentively gaze at it
Above all things.

I donʾt regret what I was before.
For I am still what I was.
I only regret not having loved you before.

6-VI-1914

PESSOA, Fernando, Forever Someone Else: selected poems, translated by Richard Zenith. Lisboa: Assírio & Alvim, 2013, p. 53