Why does this weakened front
Decline, while the afternoon is breathing?
Why in this numb look does
Your naïf soul exhale?
Why? alas! why? say;
That if love of this pursuit,
Voilà; in my breast it’s cloaked;
It lives, it’s yours, this is its fate!
You’ll see then how brilliant,
It leads astray, takes life, inspires,
This your beautiful appearance,
That on this day can be admired by all!
——
Porque languida essa frente
Descai, quando a tarde espira?
Porque nesse olhar dormente
Tua alma ingenua suspira?
Porque? ai! porque? responde;
Que se amor do ceo procura,
Eil-o; em meu peito se esconde;
Vive, é teu, tens a ventura!
Verás como então brilhante,
Seduz, toma vida, inspira,
Esse teu bello semblante,
Que apenas hoje se admira!
——
Álvaro Bulhão Pato (1840 – 1936) was a writer in the Romantic tradition, as well as a politician in his native Portugal.