mas fica sempre

18:24 Feb 2, 2019 

Looking at other poems by Pessoa, I came to the conclusion that he's referring to the indifference in which he remains. So this is what I came up with:

"But it always remains as to why the poor is rich*
In every single thing, if you look closely,
The big indifference in which I remain.
I write it so it’s remembered clearly."

* The poet probably means, "the question always remains as to why the poor is rich". Most likely, this phrase ("the poor is rich") comes from one of the quotes by Saint Augustine. (TN)

This indifference will surely be remembered. I recall reading another poem in which I was struck by this:

"What desperate angst!
What grief with a taste of death!
If the ship was abandoned,
And the beggar fell on the street —
Leave them alone, don't care less."

In another poem, by Alberto Caeiro, he suggests that humanity should have the "natural selfishness of the flowers" and in doing so, there would be no suffering in the world. "All suffering", he adds, "comes from us worrying about one another."

I think I'm pretty much settled on this one. Thank you, Katarina. And thank you, Lara.

17:47 Feb 2, 2019 

...has different meanings in different contexts:
"he/she is picking ON me"
"I picked the flower that was IN my life's stinging nettle"
"I picked him/her UP"
etc. etc.

17:32 Feb 2, 2019 

As far as the phrase "o pobre é rico", it's probably by Saint Augustine: https://quemdisse.com.br/frase/no-amor-do-proximo-o-pobre-e-...

I think this is a strong possibility. In a poem by Álvaro de Campos, Pessoa also makes a reference to St. Augustine: https://books.google.com/books?id=w7_O5QmBb7YC&pg=PA197&lpg=...

With that in mind, a new interpretation occurred to me. It could be, "Mas fica sempre [a pergunta] porque o pobre é rico / Em qualquer coisa". If this is correct, I guess "remain" or "linger" would be the way to go. I'm now leaning towards this interpretation.

17:26 Feb 2, 2019 

I can live with that. From might work better. Thank you.

17:23 Feb 2, 2019 

But it makes no sense to say "pick in". The preposition you use must be correclty chosen regardless of how you "read poetry" or what genre you are writing etc. I know what I am talking about and I am trying help!

You can say "pick from", (eg. Pick from a collection of xxx), but in English you cannot just attribute prepositions where you want to. Each verb uses its own prepositions and often these cannot be varied without sounding clumsy.

http://www.englishessaywritingtips.com/2011/10/prepositions-...

17:07 Feb 2, 2019 

Thank you. I'll think about it. I'm leaning more towards "battles". Perfect rhyme!

17:04 Feb 2, 2019 

Agree :)
Re the rhyming: how about "never embattled", although your "yet without battles" sounds good.

16:51 Feb 2, 2019 

Regarding your previous comment, yes, one needs to read poetry the proper way. He's clearly referring to "pick the [gentle] flower IN [his] life's stinging nettle." No question on that one! As far as your proposed rhyme, I like it, except that it doesn't quite convey the same idea. In Portuguese it's as if he didn't fight hard enough or didn't even try. Can you think of a way to convey this idea with the word "battle"? Maybe "yet without battles"? (to rhyme with "nettles" in the plural)

16:44 Feb 2, 2019 

The only thing that would rhyme with "nettle" would be "battle" in this context, so you could say "I failed in everything and lost the battle" (explaining the "no bravery")

16:27 Feb 2, 2019 

He means "nor did I pick the gentle flower in my life's stinging nettle"
One has to read poetry the proper way...

16:14 Feb 2, 2019 

I think you need to delete or change the preposition after "pick":
Nor did I pick IN my life’s stinging nettle.

Don't you just mean "pick my life's st...." ?