Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Holland: Vols. XIV–XV. 1876–79.

Portugal: Tagus (Tejo), the River

The River Tagus

By Luís de Camões (c. 1524–1580)

Translated by Felicia Hemans

FAIR Tejo! thou, whose calmly flowing tide

Bathes the fresh verdure of these lovely plains,

Enlivening all where’er thy waves may glide,

Flowers, herbage, flocks, and sylvan nymphs, and swains:

Sweet stream! I know not when my steps again

Shall tread thy shores; and while to part I mourn,

I have no hope to meliorate my pain,

No dream to whisper,—I may yet return!

My frowning destiny, whose watchful care

Forbids me blessings, and ordains despair,

Commands me thus to leave thee and repine:

And I must vainly mourn the scenes I fly,

And breathe on other gales my plaintive sigh,

And blend my tears with other waves than thine!