---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I sometimes think, with a sad delight…"
description: "\"I sometimes think, with a sad delight, that if one day, in a future I no longer belong to, these sentences, that I write, last with praise, I will at l..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/fernando-pessoa-177_affection_i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-tha_2885185.jpg"
---

#  I sometimes think, with a sad delight, that if one day, in…

![“I sometimes think, with a sad delight, that if one day, in a future I no longer belong to, these sentences, that I write, last with praise, I will at last have the people who understand me, those mine, the true family to be born in and be loved... I will only be understood in effigy, when…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/fernando-pessoa-177_affection_i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-tha_2885185.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/fernando-pessoa-177_affection_i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-tha_2885185.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/fernando-pessoa-177_affection_i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-tha_2885185.jpg)

> “I sometimes think, with a sad delight, that if one day, in a future I no longer belong to, these sentences, that I write, last with praise, I will at last have the people who understand me, those mine, the true family to be born in and be loved... I will only be understood in effigy, when affection no longer repays the dead the unaffection that was, when living.”

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He longs for true understanding and belonging, fearing that only after death will he be truly known.

**In simple terms:** Desire for genuine connection beyond life.

Key Takeaway

Seek authentic relationships now.

Themes

identity loneliness art mortality

Mood

melancholic hopeful

Type

poetic reflective

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- creative work
- legacy building

Key Concepts

existentialism self‑expression

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “true family” mean to you?
- How can you find meaning now?

A Different Perspective

Understanding may remain elusive; acceptance is key.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Belong Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belong-sentences-4020434/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Effigy Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effigy-affection-3132991/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mines/) [One day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-day/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Sad Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-delight-4020433/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Think Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-sad-523652/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [True family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-family/) [Understand me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-me/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Effigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-effigy-3132993/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [“It sometimes occurs to me, with sad delight, that if one day (in a future I won’t be part of) the sentences I write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/it-sometimes-occurs-to-me-with-sad-delight-that-if-one-day-in-a/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-bond-that-links-your-true-family-is-not-one-of-blood-but-of/)

[Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/)

> [“How does one go on after doing such unspeakable things? It's all rather simple, really," he continued, speaking in someone else's voice. "Say to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melika-dannese-lux/how-does-one-go-on-after-doing-such-unspeakable-things-it-s-all/)

[Melika Dannese Lux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melika-dannese-lux/)

> [What is true of the individual will be true of the whole family; what is true of the family will be true of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/what-is-true-of-the-individual-will-be-true-of-the-whole-family-what/)

[Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/)

> [The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each others life. Rarely do members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-bond-that-links-your-true-family-is-not-one-of-blood-but-of-2/)

[Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/)

> [Be sure to incorporate your pooch into your daily activities to make her feel like a true family member. You can do this by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-jillson/be-sure-to-incorporate-your-pooch-into-your-daily-activities-to-make/)

[Joyce Jillson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-jillson/)

> [“What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/what-is-family-they-were-the-people-who-claimed-you-in-good-in-bad-in-3/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [“Perspective - Use It or Lose It. If you turned to this page, you're forgetting that what is going on around you is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/perspective-use-it-or-lose-it-if-you-turned-to-this-page-you-re-2/)

[Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/)

> [Be true to who you are and the family name you bare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/be-true-to-who-you-are-and-the-family-name-you-bare/)

[Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/)

> [Believe in God. Believe in Love. Believe in true family and friends and most importantly, believe in yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/believe-in-god-believe-in-love-believe-in-true-family-and-friends-and/)

[Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/)

> [True family will always be there to catch your fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-family-will-always-be-there-to-catch-your-fall/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Numerous New Testament passages teach that we need to forsake our allegiance to our original family and become adopted by God (Matt. 23:9). God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/numerous-new-testament-passages-teach-that-we-need-to-forsake-our/)

[Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/)

> [“Neptune rose and Neptune set in the skylight above. Kalsang's tears collected on his cheeks and evaporated in a steady cycle. He sat for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-winburn/neptune-rose-and-neptune-set-in-the-skylight-above-kalsang-s-tears/)

[Samuel Winburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-winburn/)

> [I think that is a great, great thing, to create your own identity and foster a true family spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddy-de-clercq/i-think-that-is-a-great-great-thing-to-create-your-own-identity-and/)

[Eddy de Clercq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddy-de-clercq/)

> [I loathe rock stars. I am a music nerd, a fan, a follower... just like any fan of music might be. And although I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-anselmo/i-loathe-rock-stars-i-am-a-music-nerd-a-fan-a-follower-just-like-any/)

[Phil Anselmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-anselmo/)

## More by Fernando Pessoa

> [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

[Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

## More Affection quotes

> [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/)

[Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/)

> [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/)

[Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/)

> [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/)

[Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/)

> [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/)

[Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/)

> [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/)

[Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/)

> [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/)

[Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/)

> [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/)

[David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/)

> [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/)

[Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/)

> [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/)

[Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/)

> [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

[Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I sometimes think, with a sad delight, that if one day, in a future I no longer belong to, these sentences, that I write, last with praise, I will at last have the people who understand me, those mine, the true family to be born in and be loved... I will only be understood in effigy, when affection no longer repays the dead the unaffection that was, when living.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Fernando Pessoa"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-that-if-one-day-in-a-future-i-no/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Affection"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-that-if-one-day-in-a-future-i-no/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/fernando-pessoa-177_affection_i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-tha_2885185.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/fernando-pessoa-177_affection_i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-tha_2885185.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/fernando-pessoa-177_affection_i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-tha_2885185.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I sometimes think, with a sad delight, that if one day, in a future I no longer belong to, these sentences…” — Fernando Pessoa",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Fernando Pessoa",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I sometimes think, with a sad...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-that-if-one-day-in-a-future-i-no/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-sometimes-think-with-a-sad-delight-that-if-one-day-in-a-future-i-no/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
