Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen was one of the most loved and respected poetic voices in Portuguese literature. Throughout her long career, her writing, like the life and history of her people, returned to and revolved about the sea. This anthology presents her words, drawn from works written over a span of some 50 years of her career. The Portuguese have always had a special relationship with the sea. Historically a nation of master mariners and navigators, the people of this small coastal country were among the first Europeans with a presence in Asia, reaching India,