Hommage to Fernando Pessoa

Fernando Pessoa, an immense poet from Portugal has written texts and poems I deeply enjoy reading. I thought I would be paying a small hommage today. In his poem “O Bandarra” which is part of the famous suite “Mensagem” (Messages) he writes about a Portuguese national figure, Bandarra. But oddly enough, this poem could just be about himself.

He dreamed, anonymous and dispersed,
The Empire by God Himself seen,
Confused as the Universe
And plebeian as Jesus Christ.

He was neither saint nor hero,
But God made sacred with His sign
This man, whose heart was
Not Portuguese, but Portugal!

Santo Lisboa from MattBen on Vimeo.