DESPONDENCY Poem by Antero de Quental

Let it go - the bird so cruelly
Despoiled of her young and nest. . .
May the infinite air of loneliness
Waft where her broken wings took her.

Let it go - the boat tossed about
On choppy waves amid the blackness
When night rose out of the vast expanses
And gales arrived from the South. . .

Let it go - the soul that laments
The faith and peace and trust it lost -
To that ever still and silent death...

Let it go - the lingering note
Of a final song. . . and the last hope left. . .
And life. . . and love. . . Let life go!