Hair

Oh hair! Curling to the collar
Oh tresses! Oh perfume charged with nonchalance!
Ecstasy! To populate the shaded alcove
With the memories sleeping in this head of hair
I will wave it in the air like a sash

Langourous Asia, and burning Africa
All a world distant, absent, almost gone
Lives in your depth, aromatic forest!
As other spirits sail on waves of music
Mine, oh my love, swims on your perfume

I will go there, where the trees and men, full of sap
Swoon lengthily in the heat of the air
Strong locks, be the swell which lifts me!
You contain, sea of ebony, a blinding dream
Of sails, of rowers, of pennants and of masts

An echoing port where my soul can drink
In great draughts the perfume, the sound and the colour
Where the vessels, which glide in the gold and the silk
Open their vast arms to embrace the glory
Of a pure sky where shimmers the eternal heat

I´ll plunge my head, drunken in love
Into this black ocean, where the other is locked
And my subtle spirit which the rolling caresses
Will know to recall from you, fertile laziness
Infinite cradlings of embalmed leisure

Blue-black tresses, pavilion hung with shadows
You give me the blue of the immense round sky!
On the downy borders of your twisted locks
I ardently bewitch myself with scents confounded
of oil of cocoa, of musk and of tar

Longtime! Always! My hand in your heavy mane
Will seed the ruby, the pearl and the sapphire
So that to my desire you will never be deaf!
Are you not the oasis where I dream, and the gourd
Where I drink, in long draughts, the wine of memory?

Tresses (rough)

Oh locks, waving fleecily to the collar
Oh buckles oh perfume charged with nonchalance
Ecstasy. To populate this evening the alcove obscure
with memories sleeping in this hair
I want to wave it in the air like a handkerchief

Langourous Asia, and burning Africa
All a world distant, absent, almost gone
Lives in your depth, aromatic forest
As other spirits wave on music
Mine, oh my love, swims on your perfume

I will go over there, where trees and man, full of the sap of life
Swoon lengthily under the ferocity of the climate
Strong tresses, be the wave which lifts me
You contain, sea of ebony, a blinding dream
Of sails, of rowers, of pennants and of masts

A resounding port where my soul can drink
In great draughts the perfume, the sound and the colour
Where the vessels, gliding in the gold and watered silk
Open their vast arms to embrace the glory
Of a pure sky where shivers the eternal heat

I´ll plunge my head, in love with intoxication
In this black ocean where the other is confined
And my subtle spirit which the rolling caresses
Will know to retrieve from you, oh fertile indolence
Infinite cradlings of embalmed leisure

Blue locks, pavilion of strained shadows
You give me the blue of the immense round sky
On the fleecy borders of your twisted locks
I ardently intoxicate myself with scents confounded
of oils of cocoa, of musk and of tar

Longtime! Always! My hand in your heavy mane
Will seed ruby, pearl and sapphire
So that to my desire you will never be deaf!
Are you not the oasis where I dream, and the gourd
Where I drink, in long draughts, the wine of memory?

La Chevelure

Ô toison, moutonnant jusque sur l'encolure!
Ô boucles! Ô parfum chargé de nonchaloir!
Extase! Pour peupler ce soir l'alcôve obscure
Des souvenirs dormant dans cette chevelure,
Je la veux agiter dans l'air comme un mouchoir!

La langoureuse Asie et la brûlante Afrique,
Tout un monde lointain, absent, presque défunt,
Vit dans tes profondeurs, forêt aromatique!
Comme d´autres esprits voguent sur la musique,
Le mein, ô mon amour! nage sur ton parfum.

J'irai là-bas, où l'arbre et l'homme, pleins de séve,
Se pâment longuement sous l´ardeur des climats;
Fortes tresses, soyez la houle qui m´enlève!
Tu contiens, mer d´ébène un éblouissant rêve
De voiles, de rameurs, de flammes et de mâts:

Un port retentissant où mon âme peut boire
À grands flots le parfum, le son et la couleur;
Où les vaisseux, glissant dans l´or et dans la moire,
Ouvrent leurs vastes bras pour embrasser la gloire
D´un ciel pur où frémit l'eternelle chaleur.

Je plongerai ma tête amoreuse d´ivresse
Dans ce noir océan où l´autre est enfermé
Et mon esprit subtil que le roulis caressent
Saura vous retrouver, ô féconde paresse!
Infinis bercements du loisir embaumé!

Cheveux bleus, pavillon de ténèbres tendues,
Vous me rendez l´azur du ciel immense et rond;
Sur les bords duvetés des vos mèches tordues
Je m´enivre ardemment de senteurs confondues
De l´huile de coco, du musc et du goudron.

Longtemps! Toujours! Ma main dans ta crinière lourde
Sèmera le rubis, la perle et le saphir,
Afin qu'à mon désir tu ne sois jamais sourde!
N'es-tu pas l'oasis où je rêve, et la gourde
Où je hume, à longs traits le vin du souvenir?

Former Life

I lived a long time under vast galleries
Which the marine suns tinted with a thousand fires
And whose great pillars, straight and majestic
Rendered them at evening like basalt caves

The waves, in rolling the images of the skies
Mixed in a fashion solemn and mystic
The all-powerful chords of their rich music
With the colours of the sunset reflected by my eyes.

It's there where I have lived, in calm ecstasies
In the middle of the blue, of the waves, of splendours
And of nude slaves all soaked in scent

Who refreshed my forehead with palms
And whose only care was to probe and deepen
The painful secret that made me languish.

The Former Life (rough)

I lived a long time under vast porticos
Which the marine suns tinted with a thousand fires
And which their great pillars, straight and majestic
Made the same, the evening, as basalt caves

The waves, in rolling the images of the skies
Mixed in a fashion solemn and mystic
The all-powerful chords of their rich music
With the colours of the sunset reflected by my eyes.

It's there where I have lived, in calm sensual pleasures
In the middle of the blue sky, of the waves, of splendours
And of nude slaves all saturated with scents

Who refreshed my forehead with palms
And whose only care was to probe and deepen
The painful secret that made me languish.

La vie anterieur

J´ai longtemps habité sous des vastes portiques
Que les soleils marins teignaient de mille feux
Et que leurs grands piliers, droits et majestueux
Rendaient pariels, le soir, aux grottes basaltiques.

Les houles, en roulant les images des cieux,
Mêlaient d´une façon solonelle et mystique
Les tout-puissants accords de leur riche musique
Aux couleurs du couchant reflété par mes yeux.

C´est là que j´ai vécu, dans les voluptés calmes,
Au milieu de l´azur, des vagues, des splendeurs
Et des esclaves nus, tout imprégnés d´odeurs

Qui me refraîchissaient le front avec des palmes,
Et dont l´unique soin était d´approfondir
Le secret douloureux qui me faisait languir.

The Curse

To lift a weight so heavy
Sisiphus, would take your courage
Even though I've heart for the task
Art is long, and time is short

Far from celebrated tombs
Towards my isolated grave
My heart like a broken drum
Goes beating out funeral marches

Many a jewel buried sleeps
In shadows and neglect
Far, far from picks and probes

Many a flower pours out in regret
Its perfume, sweet as a secret
In solitude profound.