Eugénio de Andrade

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Eugénio de Andrade, pseudonym of José Fontinhas, GOSE, GCM (Póvoa de Atalaia, Fundão, 19 January 1923–Porto, 13 June 2005), was a Portuguese poet. He's revered as one of the leading names in contemporary Portuguese poetry.

His poetry is most striking for the depth of his short poems. One of Eugénio de Andrade's most know poems is his Poem to Mother

Poema à Mãe
No mais fundo de ti,
eu sei que traí, mãe!
Tudo porque já não sou
o retrato adormecido
no fundo dos teus olhos!
Tudo porque tu ignoras
que há leitos onde o frio não se demora
e noites rumorosas de águas matinais!
Por isso, às vezes, as palavras que te digo
são duras, mãe,
e o nosso amor é infeliz.
Tudo porque perdi as rosas brancas
que apertava junto ao coração
no retrato da moldura!
Se soubesses como ainda amo as rosas,
talvez não enchesses as horas de pesadelos...
Mas tu esqueceste muita coisa!
Esqueceste que as minhas pernas cresceram,
que todo o meu corpo cresceu,
e até o meu coração
ficou enorme, mãe!
Olha - queres ouvir-me? -,
às vezes ainda sou o menino
que adormeceu nos teus olhos;
ainda aperto contra o coração
rosas tão brancas
como as que tens na moldura;
ainda oiço a tua voz:
Era uma vez uma princesa
no meio de um laranjal...
Mas - tu sabes! - a noite é enorme
e todo o meu corpo cresceu...
Eu saí da moldura,
dei às aves os meus olhos a beber.
Não me esqueci de nada, mãe.
Guardo a tua voz dentro de mim.
E deixo-te as rosas...
Boa noite. Eu vou com as aves!

Which translates as...

Poem to Mother
In the deepest of you,
I know I have betrayed, mother!
All because I no longer am
The sleeping portrait
In the depth of your eyes!
All because you ignore
That there are beds where coldness doesn’t linger
And rustling nights of morning waters!
For that, sometimes, the words I tell you
Are hard, mother,
And our love is unhappy.
All because I’ve lost the white roses
You clenched to your heart
In the portrait with the frame!
If you knew how I still love the roses,
Maybe you wouldn’t fill your hours with nightmares...
But you have forgotten many things!
You have forgotten that my legs grew,
And that all of my body has grown,
And even my heart
Is now huge, mother!
Look – do you want to listen? -,
Sometimes I am still the little boy
That fell asleep in your eyes;
I still clench against my heart
Roses so white
As the ones you have in the frame;
I still hear your voice:
Once upon a time there was a princess
amidst the orange trees...
But – you know! – the night is enormous
And all my body has grown... I left the frame,
I gave my eyes as water to the birds,
I shan’t forget, mother.
I keep your voice inside me.
And I leave you the roses...
Goodnight. I go with the birds!