Love Vandal, silkscreen print edition. Nick Walker (other details not known). Chelsea Market, New York
La Lumière, Changée
The Light, Changed
Yves Bonnefoy, 1923-2016, French
Translated by John Naughton
Love Goes On, silk screen print, handfinished. Nick Walker. Other details not known. Chelsea Market, New York
Nous ne nous voyons plus dans la même lumière,
We no longer see each other in the same light,
Nous n’avons plus les mêmes yeux, les mêmes mains.
We no longer have the same eyes, the same hands.
L’arbre est plus proche et la voix des sources plus vive,
The tree is closer, and the water’s voice more lively,
Nos pas sont plus profonds, parmi les morts.
Our steps go deeper now, among the dead.
As Above
Dieu qui n’es pas, pose ta main sur notre épaule,
God, who are not, put your hand on our shoulder
Ébauche notre corps du poids de ton retour,
Rough cast our body with the weight of your return,
Achève de mêler à nos âmes ces astres,
Finish blending our souls with these stars
Ces bois, ces cris d’oiseaux, ces ombres et ces jours.
These woods, these bird cries, these shadows and these days.
As Above
Renonce-toi en nous comme un fruit se déchire,
Give yourself up in us (in) the way fruit tears apart,
Efface-nous en toi.
Have us disappear in you.
Découvre-nous
Reveal to us
Le sens mystérieux de ce qui n’est que simple
The mysterious meaning in what is merely simple
Et fût tombé sans feu dans des mots sans amour.
And would have fallen without fire in words without love.
Ce poème de Bonnefoy est magnifique et la traduction anglaise bien digne de l’original.
As much trouble as I made when a child to be made to learn languages when my little friends were out playing, how glad I am now! French so different from English and so precise!