I received the 2013 French Poetry Translation prize at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD for this translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem “Circonspection”. The original French can be found below the translation.
Give your hand, hold your breath, let us take up our seat
Under this giant tree where the breeze comes and dies
Under the grey branches, in its unequal sighs,
That the light of the moon caresses, pale and sweet.
Unmoved, let us lower our eyes towards our feet
Let us not think, but dream. We leave them in their guise
Love which is fatigued and the happiness that flies
And our hair being brushed as the wings of owls beat.
Let us forget to hope. Discreet and contained
Each soul, the two of ours, still continues maintained
In this calm and serene death of the sun’s ember
In the nocturnal peace let’s silently adjourn:
It is not good to go disturbing the slumber
Of Nature, that god so fierce and yet so taciturn.
Donne ta main, retiens ton souffle, asseyons-nous
Sous cet arbre géant où vient mourir la brise
En soupirs inégaux sous la ramure grise
Que caresse le clair de lune blême et doux.
Immobiles, baissons nos yeux vers nos genoux.
Ne pensons pas, rêvons. Laissons faire à leur guise
Le bonheur qui s’enfuit et l’amour qui s’épuise,
Et nos cheveux frôlés par l’aile des hiboux.
Oublions d’espérer. Discrète et contenue,
Que l’âme de chacun de nous deux continue
Ce calme et cette mort sereine du soleil.
Restons silencieux parmi la paix nocturne :
Il n’est pas bon d’aller troubler dans son sommeil
La nature, ce dieu féroce et taciturne.
—Paul Verlaine (1844-1896)
The Grass is Always Greener 