Poem of the Week

Come and discover the Greatest Poets of France
and their magnificent works in English.
Travel through the Centuries
with Ronsard, Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, and many more.
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France and its Poets
Middle Ages to the 19th Century
by Christiane Guise

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France and its Poets from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century Click on the link Poesie above to see the book content.

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    Pierre de Ronsard

L’Invitation au Voyage

Mon enfant, ma soeur,
Songe à la douceur
D’aller là-bas vivre ensemble!
Aimer à loisir,
Aimer et mourir
Au pays qui te ressemble!
Les soleils mouillés
De ces ciels brouillés
Pour mon esprit ont les charmes
Si mystérieux
De tes traîtres yeux,
Brillant à travers leurs larmes.

Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté,
Luxe, calme et volupté.

Des meubles luisants,
Polis par les ans,
Décoreraient notre chambre;
Les plus rares fleurs
Mêlant leurs odeurs
Aux vagues senteurs de l’ambre.
Les riches plafonds,
Les miroirs profonds,
La splendeur orientale,
Tout y parlerait
A l’âme en secret
Sa douce langue natale.

Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté,
Luxe, calme et volupté.

Vois sur ces canaux
Dormir ces vaisseaux
Dont l’humeur est vagabonde;
C’est pour assouvir
Ton moindre désir
Qu’ils viennent du bout du monde.
—Les soleils couchants
Revêtent les champs,
Les canaux, la ville entière,
D’hyacinthe et d’or;
Le monde s’endort
Dans une chaude lumière.

Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté,
Luxe, calme et volupté.

Travel Initiation

My child, my sister,
Think of the sweetness
To go there and live together!
To love as we want,
To love and to die
In a country resembling you!
The misty yellow suns
In the cloudy skies
Have always on my mind the charms
So mysterious
Of your faithless eyes
Shinning behind their salted tears.

There, all is clear beauty,
Luxurious, calm, and voluptuous.

Gleaming furniture
Polished by the years,
Would decorate our bedroom;
The rarest flowers
Blending their odours
To the subtle scent of amber,
And the rich ceilings,
The profound mirrors,
The Eastern splendour,
All would secretly
Whisper to our souls
In their native language.

There, all is clear beauty,
Luxurious, calm, and voluptuous.

See on the canals
The tall ships slumber
Pulling their ropes.
To fulfill
The least of your desires
They sail all over the world.
- The red setting suns
Caress the fields,
The channels, and the whole city
In hyacinth and gold;
The world falls asleep
In the soft light.

There, all is clear beauty,
Luxurious, calm, and voluptuous.