Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Another translation experiment

What I made of myself, I didn't know
And what I could have made of myself, I didn't
The domino I put on was the wrong one
They knew me at once for who I wasn't, I didn't deny it, and so lost myself
When I wanted to take the mask  off
It was stuck to my face
And when I got it off and saw myself in the mirror, 
I had aged,
And was drunk, and didn't know how to wear the domino suit I hadn't taken off.
I threw away the mask and slept in the dressing-room,
Like a dog tolerated by the management
Because he is harmless.
And I will write this story to prove I am sublime.

Fernando Pessoa, excerpt from the poem "A Tabacaria" (The Tobacconist"


Fiz de mim o que não soube
E o que podia fazer de mim não o fiz.
O dominó que vesti era errado.
Conheceram-me logo por quem não era e não desmenti, e perdi-me.
Quando quis tirar a máscara,
Estava pegada à cara.
Quando a tirei e me vi ao espelho,
Já tinha envelhecido.
Estava bêbado, já não sabia vestir o dominó que não tinha tirado.
Deitei fora a máscara e dormi no vestiário
Como um cão tolerado pela gerência
Por ser inofensivo
E vou escrever esta história para provar que sou sublime.