In Middelkerke-Westende the verses of 'Ode Maritima' are embedded in four places along the seawall. The Portuguese poet grew up in South Africa and was bitten by literature. Back in his homeland he grew into a respected philosopher and writer. In 1915 he published 'Ode Maritima'. Only after his death in 1950 he was labeled as a major influence for European literature.

In 1981 August Willemsen translated large parts of Pessoas' oeuvre, including 'Ode Maritima', so that his work was also imitated in our regions.

performance
poetry carved in blue limestone sunk in the seawall

Place
vers 125 to 129 - seawall Westende bath at the Arendlaan

'... In me the flywheel slightly accelerates its speed'

'And the package ship sails into the harbor because he has to enter ...'

fresh 135 to 141 seawall Westende bath at the Priorijlaan

'Ships entering the roads, ships leaving the port ...'

'All these ships are moving like they were something else ...'

verses 142 to 149 - sea dike Middelkerke at the Ponchonstraat

'And see ships from close by, even if they do not take them in ...'

'Ships seen from close by, they are something different and the same ...'

fresh 150 to 154 - sea dike Middelkerke at the P. De Smet De Naeyerlaan

"Oh, the lines of the far shores, flattened over the horizon ..."

"Oh, the capes, islands, sandy beaches!"