Fernando Pessoa
Θαλασσινή ωδή (Maritime Ode)


 Ἀποβάθρα ποὺ καθρεφτίζεται μαῦρη πάνω στ’ ἀκίνητα νερά,
 φασαρία πάνω στὰ πλοῖα,
 ἡ ὄψη, παραλαβαίνει καὶ ἀπολῆται τῶν ταξιδευτῶν,
 τῶν συμβολικῶν ἀνθρώπων ποὺ περνοῦν καὶ ποὺ τίποτα μ’ αὐτοὺς δὲν διαρκεῖ,
 γιατὶ ὅταν τὸ πλοῖο ἐπιστρέφει στὸ λιμάνι
 πάντα κάτι ἔχει ἀλλάξει στὸν κόσμο του!



A pier mirrored black upon the motionless water,
a chaotic noise upon the ships,
the gaze, receives and extinguishes the travelers—
those symbolic figures who pass through,
and with whom nothing ever endures,
for when the ship returns to port,
something in its world
has always changed!

Pessoa, Fernando. Maritime Ode. Translated and edited by Maria Papadima. Athens: Gutenberg, 2023.