I would like to dedicate this edition of ‘Food for Thought’ to Poetry! As you may know, the 21st of March is Poetry Day, the same day as it starts spring… which, by the way, is kind of poetic, don’t you think?
My discovery of poetry started in secondary school, more precisely at the portuguese classes. First I have to tell you, in previous years I used to be that kind of student connected to maths, so I believe my portuguese teacher was responsible for this kind of epiphany ahah
The poet is a man who feigns
And feigns so thoroughly, at last
He manages to feign as pain
The pain he really feels
Fernando Pessoa
During the portuguese classes I was truly excited about discovering portuguese poets, especially their poems but also their lives. In fact, when I first got in touch with Fernando Pessoa, I remember to think: “wait!, this guy is writing such things and he got praised as one of the biggest poets in history, how is it possible?… I can do it even better!”
Over the years I discovered many other poets, and even me, I started to write. It was when I realized how hard it is, but also challenging, and how genius these persons were and how meritorious are their works.
I reckon a tough and definite disease
A sleep that is not effaced in the sleep, or even better
A stopped verse in the middle of a poem.
Daniel Faria
Personally, what I like the most in a poem is how surprising it can be: a poem is more than a creative piece of art, it can also bring feelings and emotions to us, as readers. “a stopped verse in the middle of a poem”, how is it possible to write something so beautiful like this???
I also find a poem can be quite magical. It happens to me several times to read a verse and discover a certain meaning and, a few days later, read the same verse and find different meanings on it. How amazing, right?
My poem had a nervous breakdown.
It cannot bear words any longer.
It tells the words: words
go thither,
to another poem
where thou can live.
Daniel Jonas
I hope this post has aroused your interest in poetry. Even if I’m aware there’s good poetry and great poets in every language, in this article I gave you a very tiny introduction to 3 different portuguese poets. You may find more in ‘poems from the portuguese’ portal.
Hope you liked and feel free to share some of your favorite poems in the comments section down below.
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P e d r o L 
I must say that I can not wait to learn and be able to read, hear and understand Portuguese, it’s just, such a beautiful language. And I can not imagine how all that sound even much more beautiful when said in Portuguese.. I am watching Portuguese soap operas (OK Brasilian) just because of a language.. (Then I get of course carried away by drama but anyway).. Thank you for sharing those authors and your passion, I have already written too much for what was meant to be a comment 😀
ahah there’s not too much for a nice comment, don’t worry 🙂 brazilian portuguese might be the easiest way to learn portuguese, their accent is much more open and easy to follow than ours ahah anyway, try to watch the portuguese national TV, like RTP, I’m sure it might help you eheh 🙂 and have a great weekend too! PedroL
Porque a Primavera merece sempre ser bem recebida…só quero dizer que ela começou hoje, dia 20, às 9h 37 m da manhã!
ahah brutal Dulce, obrigado pelo pormenor 🙂 e que belo dia que está a ser, não é?? bom fim de semana 🙂 PedroL
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve been wanting to read the works of Fernando Pessoa and this just reminded me. I think more than even reading poetry, sometimes hearing it performed makes a bigger impact- I think it is how I enjoy it.
Glad my post brought you this memory 🙂 and yeah, Pessoa is amazing, you will have a great time reading his poems and discovering about his unique life 🙂 thanks for the comment and have a great week, PedroL
eu lembro-me de ver este poema num livro de Português, antes do secundário (deveria ter sido oitavo ou nono ano), mas é algo estranho porque não é de um autor português, mas antes de Coleridge:
What if you slept
And what if in your sleep you dreamed
And what if in your dream you went to heaven
And there plucked a strange and beautiful flower
And what if when you awoke you had that flower in your hand
Ah, what then?
E foi assim que me apaixonei por poesia. Fernando Pessoa foi o melhor que me poderia ter sido apresentado na escola. Tinha um professora de português bastante apaixonada por Álvaro de Campos, recitava a Ode Triunfal com uma paixão incrível. Há uns anos, acabei por fazer uma tatuagem com a frase “Tenho em mim todos os sonhos do mundo”.
Mas ainda assim, penso que devia ler bem mais poesia do que leio neste momento. Bom resto de fim de semana!
brutal 🙂 eu também fiquei fascinado ao descobrir nessas aulas todos os poetas e as suas vidas! ao menos que a escola tenha servido para isto ahah
esse poema do Coleridge que partilhas é uma delícia 🙂 adoro como termina ‘ah, what then?’, brutal!
boa semana 🙂
PedroL
Poets have an amazing talent for expressing a thought or emotion in so few words, and sometimes as surprising as a short story can be. I loved the haiku and have a few books of them, so short but lovely. Thanks for this great post!
that’s true and that’s also one of the things I like the most about poetry 🙂 thank you so much for your comment Ruth!! have a great week, PedroL