I
don’t really know French poetry very well, so I went looking through my Introduction to French Poetry book and
looked for an applicable poem to use as bond with the French people after Friday’s
despicable barbarism in Paris. I wanted to use something from the Song
of Roland, or maybe something on Joan of Arc, or perhaps a French song from
the crusades. The anger in me certainly
wanted to poke a fist into the eyes of the jihadists, but then I relented and
found this sort of secular prayer by Yves Bonnefoy.
Aube,
fille des larmes, rétablis
by Yves Bonnefoy
Aube, fille des larmes,
rétablis
La chambre dans sa paix
de chose grise
Et le cœur dans son
ordre.
Tant de nuit
Demandait à ce feu
qu'il décline et s'achève,
Il nous faut bien
veiller près du visage mort.
A peine a-t-il
changé...
Le navire des lampes
Entrera-t-il au port
qu'il avait demandé.
Sur les tables d'ici la
flamme faite cendre
Grandira-t-elle
ailleurs dans une autre clarté ?
Aube, soulève, prends
le visage sans ombre,
Colore peu à peu le
temps recommencé.
Here
is the English translation by Stanly Applebaum.
Dawn,
daughter of tears, reestablish
Dawn, daughter of
tears, reestablish
The room in its grey
thing’s peace
And the heart in its
order. So much night
Demanded that the fire
should abate and finish.
We must keep watch by
the dead face.
It has barely changed…Will
the ship of the lamps
Enter the port it had
asked for,
Will the flame fallen
to ash on the tables of this place
Wax elsewhere in
another brightness?
Dawn, raise up, take
the shadowless face,
Color little by little
the time that is beginning again.
Over at Vultus Christi is a beautiful religious prayer, "Litany For France" newly composed by Dom Benedict.
Praying. May they rest in Peace.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Nice post.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys.
ReplyDelete