Allons enfants de la Patrie
it was when spring bowed low
and kissed me silent on the Ill,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé
its waters wet with hope and
spreading nets of history across my face,
heart blooming light and red with summer juice,
with blossoms, swaying from the sky
like soldiers on a parachute, fall
in the waters of my soul, sparkling
like spears to fight and to defend
la Liberté chérie
dancing like ballerinas
to war tunes, songs of battlefields,
drunken from sparkling white crémant and
creamy, yellow mango ice, does
victory taste sweet, melt rich
and slowly on your tongue
or sour like grapes that never turned to wine,
spilled on the stone floors of dark cellars,
beastly betrayed and never
licking spring, dancing so gently
on my lips & eyes, finding its way alongside
soft-blue wind and timbered homes,
a silent witness of the past - Tremblés!
Combats avec tes défenseurs
we're passing power's cradle,
lying in beds of cherry blooms and
making love to justice, flowing
peaceful with the boat
towards an unknown goal
nous entrerons dans la carrière
equality and liberty, together,
three hundred sixty thousand liters
raised, released & watergates
let pass, we open - open wide the locks
humming along the song and blossoming
magnolias rain us into luscious lawn
That was when I was in Strasbourg/France lately on a boat trip on the river Ill, passing the European Parliament, the Palace of defense for human rights and thinking of the rich history of this place.
The italicized parts of the poem are extracts from the Marseillaise, the national anthem of France. The Marseillaise was written in Strasbourg by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle on the 26th of April 1792
Crémant is a famous sparkling wine in the Alsace region
Allons enfants de la Patrie (Go children of the fatherland)
Le jour de gloire est arrivé (The day of honor has come)
la Liberté chérie (Beloved liberty)
Tremblés! (Quiver)
Combats avec tes défenseurs (Fight with your defenders)
nous entrerons dans la carrière (We will continue to walk the paths of life)
linking up with One Shot Wednesday - a fantastic community of poets - you should visit..
29 Comments:
my uncle has done this trip before... i think it sounds wonderful. as do you, reading your poetry. some favorite lines:
"with blossoms, swaying from the sky
like soldiers on a parachute "
"we're passing power's cradle,
lying in beds of cherry blooms and
making love to justice"
some wonderful lines in here claudia...and seems you found a bit of peace in your passing...
Hi! Claudia and Brian...
Claudia, that is wonderful...to pass a building [The European Parliament, the Palace of defense which represent...human rights] and then to let such beautiful word flow from your lips and to type them on your computer in order to share with your readers.
Thank-you, for sharing!
[By the way, the additional info(rmation) is appreciated and the photograph is beautiful too!]
DeeDee ;-D
thank you so much for this wonderful poem and the extra's, you reading it, translations, extra info.
It's always a treasure to read your works, Claudia and more so when you read it!
thank you.
awesome photo!
Rich in details...lovely!
This is beautiful!
you sound ...serene...and happy....in your write...and i always love that in any poem i read....
it flows...beautifully..
Beautifully wrought poetry. Also wonderful to hear you reading it.
From the poem it looks you have explored some amazing things during you visit.
Great :)
Informative as well as excellently written. nicely done.
Beautiful...I especially love the last line!
I think I would rather hear you read your poetry than anything else!
Marvelous, voice, cadence, words, poem.
Moving, historic and excellent..
Lady Nyo
Beautiful write! Love french, especially when read aloud, though my understanding is limited, I do know these words, and had such a wonderful time with this piece. Thank you! :)
Nice piece but now I have la marseillaise in the back of my head. I shall probably sing it all day lol.
http://lynnaima.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/in-search-of-jasmine/
What a beautiful testament to the rich history that spoke to you on that boat trip and a respectful nod to the price of liberty.
Wonderful, Claudia! You keep getting better and better! Must be all that imspiration!
I like this one, so imaginative.
Big fan here of the interweaving of languages especially things like the Marseillaise-- prob. misspelled but this has lush surprising imagery and a beautiful flow. You have been enlivened by this trip and I'm sure have many more impressions to draw on, Claudia! xxxj
Good stuff Cloudy.. love the picture too. Missed ya
Luke x
Good stuff Cloudy.. love the picture too. Missed ya
Luke x
Claudia! je ne savais pas que tu parles francais! Pourquois ca ne me suprendre pas? Tu fait, et sais tout!!
yes, I speak a little French too. ;)
water, water everywhere.
and another Cloudia poem to flood the senses.
Merci bien, ma belle poete almandaise.
Oh, the ballerinas dancing to war tunes was my favorite line, I could really see that, the sorrow and beauty entwined.
xoox
sorry, mispelled your name the second time, tres gauche de jannie. Please forgive??
xo
love how you wove the historic lines into your poem..the cadence lends to an anthem like feel, very nice ~
btw...saw your street bike twitpic on side..just busted mine out last week, happy riding!
There it is again...that dizzying, dancing way I feel when I read your work...
bravo! bravo! love it!
I'll lift my glass to this, happily, exultantly -- The French do have such a language for liberation, probably goes back to the French revolution? or the gloom of the Hundred Years' War and endless catholic servitude, the indenture to the wealthy few ... I think the French gave us the diabolic songs of freedom which are repeated by every rebellious pair of lovers, by the Arab street now in revolt, perhaps, too, I pray, by dispossessed Americans -- all 280 million of them, when it comes time to vote Wealth and Power out ... la Liberté chérie! -- Brendan
beautiful the imagery...
powerful the history...
very striking, Claudia!
i love it! ♥ dani
Striking poetry..love the mix of English and French words..nice
Just checking back to read any postings you may have written.
I’ve been following and enjoying your blog for a while now and would like to invite you to visit and perhaps follow me back. Sorry I took so long for the invitation.
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