Le monde, en hiver, se depouille,
attend le retour de la vie.
Et comme la terre, moi aussi,
j’ai soif de l’amour, de la pluie,
de toi, qui seul peut me rempli.
Tu vas, sans parole, dans la nuit.
Je me trouve, sans espoir, dans l’ennui.
Reviens, bienaimé, je t’en pris.
Ne te cache toujours, sans souci.
A Non-Poetic Translation
The Dark Night
The world, in winter, empties itself,
awaits for life to return.
Like earth, I also thirst
for love, for rain,
for you who alone satisfies me.
You leave me, without a word
in the middle of the night.
You leave me without hope, bored.
Come back, beloved, I beg you.
Don’t hide yourself forever, without care.
Fred Rutherford, over at dVerse, has us writing poetry in a foreign language, or using some foreign words or phrases. I tried to recover some of my long-lost French. Forty years ago, I lived in a somewhat monastic setting in France. That’s why this poem took me where it did.
Any of you who know French, please feel free (encouraged to) make corrections! It’s been a long time.
alas, i barely speak English and no French beyond what i learned from Miss Piggy. {smile}
i LOVE the English version, Victoria!
♥
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I do not understand French, but I see the words and hear the sounds. It is beautiful. The English version is equally lovely.
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Beautiful in both languages!
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yes french is a good language for love isn’t it
the english is also lovely and achy.
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Beautiful poetry really. I love this!
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Victoria you are feature here this evening:
http://musingbymoonlight.com/
http://intothebardo.wordpress.com/
Tomorrow morning a feature will go up here:
http://brooklynmemoriesmostgreen.wordpress.com/
Sorry for taking so long to do something. I don’t know where my head is these days. I hope it was okay to use the photos I clipped. Let me know if not.
Be well …
Jamie
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Bravo! I love it. I can’t judge the French, but the English version is not only beautiful but I think the French cadence remains. A wonderful job, Victoria.
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Beautiful!
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I’d say you recovered your French quite well! I’m impressed.
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Lovely – ’tis a time of loneliness when love abandons us and we await the hope of Spring and new birth…
Anna :o]
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The French language is always a fascination! One not knowing the language still enjoys just hearing it. That’s the language of love so they say! Nicely Victoria!
Hank
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Beautiful in both languages ~ how kind you are to translate it for us 🙂
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il reste toujours la pluie pour nous remplir 🙂
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lovely … absolutely lovely.
for me … it would be a back and forth workout using Google translate!!
thank you for sharing.
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Gorgeous. The rhythm and rhyme so affecting en français. I think I had it all but the “beloved” word in French. I like learning a new word in French today. Beautiful love poem. Feels so right. I might try to memorize it.
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Reviens mon amour je te supplie
French is so beautiful
Vous m’inspirez ecrire en francaise.
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The first stanza really speaks to me. Beautiful.
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What a great idea!
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Terrific. Magnifique. k..
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Oh, I love the wistfulness in this ..makes me want to learn French;_)
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I love this, the longing comes through very poignantly.
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I got most of this without the translation…makes me feel good..lots of French going on…must we all be hopeless romantics?
I enjoyed reading this..it hurts to have a half of ones life leave..
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without words now, lost in beauty
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this is soooo soo gorgeous
Bichon Frise
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So beautiful. Such a romantic piece, and the longing is palpable.
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…I loved this…i’ve always wanted to learn french but i also know it is quite a tough language to learn to because there’s a lot of consonant letters to be pronounced silently…unlike in Nihonggo where pronunciation varies only on ‘ a e i u o’… Ha…french,though, always sounds elegant & pleasing to ears…i really the commanding tone you resonated with this short beautiful verses…i really enjoyed it…smiles…
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Attempted this in French – not for understanding (no chance) but for the sound and rhythm. Thanks for the English translation – I needed it. It seems quite poetic to me.
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In french, words almost always sound like love songs to me. this is a beautiful poem, Victoria.
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I’m embarrassed to admit that my bachelor’s degree is in French. I’ve forgotten most of it. But I’m happy that I fully understood your beautiful poem. You did a great job with this.
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Hi Victoria, a lovely poem, with one or two linguistic problems. I have made some corrections and suggestions in the attached file. Some of my suggestions don’t rhyme, so I have searched out possible alternatives. Lots of love, ViV
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I wish I can understand French but I do appreciate someone reading it to me ~ I like specially like the opening lines for winter’s abandonment ~
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Victoria, this is outstanding. Wish I would’ve read this before I completed the article. I would’ve asked to use it in there, it’s exactly what I was going for, as the tone changes, the words take on their own formations, each seeming like their own poem. Amazing. Thanks
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A beautiful poem, Victoria. Your French served you well. And the English translation strikes me as poetic as well.
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ah a heart felt verse…come back my love….relationships go through seasons much like most things in life…different cycles…the french is pretty cool…i like holding them up to each other and well…i guess learning a bit as well…smiles.
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Winter is a feeling of abandonment… I really like this, Victoria.
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this is wonderful victoria…read it out aloud..my french is really not good but just love how it sounds…very fine rhymes and great flow…
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