In This World Where We Forget
In this world where we forget
we are shadows of who we are,
and the true expressions we form
in that other where, souls, we live,
are here grimaces and signs.
All is night and confusion
that exists among us here:
projections, smoke scattered
from the fire whose glow is hidden
when we look at what life gives.
But one or another, gazing
closely for a moment,
can see in the shifting shadows
the intent in the other world
of the expression that makes them live.
And then they find the meaning
of what here is merely a grimace,
and their intuitive gaze
returns to their body, lost,
imagined, understood.
Shadow of the yearning body,
it pretends it feels the tie
that binds it to the marvellous
truth that hurled it, anxious,
to the floor of space and time.
— Fernando Pessoa
Summary
“In This World Where We Forget” by Fernando Pessoa is about the duality of human existence. The poem suggests that we live simultaneously in two worlds – the physical world (“this world”) and the spiritual world (“that other where”).
In the physical world, we are described as “shadows” of our true selves. Our genuine expressions and nature exist in the spiritual realm. Our actions and expressions in the physical world are often misunderstood or misinterpreted. They are described as “grimaces and signs” rather than true representations of our souls.
The poem portrays our earthly existence as shrouded in “night and confusion.” We have limited understanding of our true nature and purpose, though there are occasional moments of clarity when some of us, if we pay close attention, glimpse the true meaning behind the “shifting shadows” of our physical existence. When this happens, we might suddenly understand why we or others act certain ways.
The poem ends by talking about how our bodies and minds here on Earth are always kind of longing for that deeper, truer part of ourselves. We might not always realize it, but there’s a part of us that remembers we’re connected to something bigger and more amazing than just our everyday lives. In other words, the poem is saying that there’s more to us than what we see every day, and sometimes we get little reminders of that bigger, truer self.
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