Prison
by Luís de Camões
translated by William Baer
Restrained in many prisons, I've had to pay,
shamefully, for all that I've done wrong;
and even now, I seem to drag along
my chains, though Fate has taken them away.
I sacrificed my life to satiate
my selfish whims, but Love was never content
with such a sacrifice, so banishment
and misery became my natural fate.
I've satisfied myself with little overall,
seeking shameless love, irresponsibly
seeking lust and satiation without measure.
But now, my fateful star has shown me all
the blindnesses of life and death, and made of me:
a man who shudders at the thought of pleasure.
First published in Selected Sonnets: A Bilingual Edition translated by William Baer (University of Chicago Press, 2005).