The Odd Fact

Quis o acaso que Almada Negreiros falecesse,
a 15 de Julho de 1970, no mesmo quarto
do Hospital de S. Luís onde, em 1935,
morrera Fernando Pessoa (que ele pintou).

Boletim (Instituto Camões) (1993)

Who discovered this coincidence and how soon? Was it Armando Côrtes-Rodrigues,
     who managed to be the last one of the Orpheu crowd to survive Almada?
Or was it Gaspar Simões, always at his job?
Almada had his life, as I had mine, though mine did not match his in public acclaim,
     government patronage.
Maybe if I had lived longer, Ferro would have done as much for me as he did for him. Still, the      prize for Mensagem was nice, and one must not begrudge others their boon.
So, we two ship out from the same bloody hospital room and—a miracle—somebody
      notices.
I could tell you things.
He could, too.

June 7, 2007