In honor of what would be his 123rd birthday, today we’re going to learn about Fernando António Nogueira de Seabra Pessoa (1888 – 1935) , known as Fernando Pessoa. Recognized as one of the greatest poets of the Portuguese language, Pessoa is from Portugal, but his works are widely popular in Brazil, and you’ll find streets, schools, and buildings named after him throughout Brazil.

Though best known for his poetry, Pessoa was a man of many talents: he also wrote essays, literary reviews, plays, and fiction, and was a polyglot and translator of English and French. In his lifetime, he was also a businessman, editor, journalist, political commentator, inventor, and astrologer. He is also famous for inventing the heteronym.

Since it was Dia dos Namorados yesterday, let’s take a look at one of Pessoa’s famous love poems, O amor:

O Amor

O amor, quando se revela,
Não se sabe revelar.
Sabe bem olhar p’ra ela,
Mas não lhe sabe falar.

Quem quer dizer o que sente
Não sabe o que há de dizer.
Fala: parece que mente
Cala: parece esquecer

Ah, mas se ela adivinhasse,
Se pudesse ouvir o olhar,
E se um olhar lhe bastasse
Pra saber que a estão a amar!
Mas quem sente muito, cala;
Quem quer dizer quanto sente
Fica sem alma nem fala,
Fica só, inteiramente!

Mas se isto puder contar-lhe
O que não lhe ouso contar,
Já não terei que falar-lhe
Porque lhe estou a falar…