Damoclès Vieux
L'Attente / The Wait
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Translation By
Emma French
Translator Biography
Emma French is a first-year student at Stockton University. This is her seventh year learning French and the opportunity to translate a Haitian poem has been a unique and informative experience.
Translator Biography
Emma French is a first-year student at Stockton University. This is her seventh year learning French and the opportunity to translate a Haitian poem has been a unique and informative experience.
Publication Date
2023
Description
English translation of Damoclès Vieux's poem "L'Attente" by Emma French
L'Attente / The Wait
English translation of Damoclès Vieux's poem "L'Attente" by Emma French
Original Work
J'ai cru que tu viendrais dans le matin léger,
En robe blanche, avec ton chapeau de dentelle,
J'ai cru que tu viendrais tendrement m'apporter
L'Amour, comme une fleur éclose en ta prunelle.
J'ai souhaité te voir, belle sur mon chemin :
Je t'ai, dans le jour clair, fervemment attendue
Pour te donner mon âme en te donnant la main
L'or du couchant pâlit, et tu n'es point venue.
Avril étend déjà son ombre à l'horizon.
Le soir, furtivement, se hâte dans la nue,
La solitude en deuil entre dans ma maison,
Je me sens froid au cœur, car tu n'es pas venue.
Poem by Damoclès Vieux, Read by Emma French
Translated Work
I believed that you would come in the morning shine
In a white dress, with your bonnet of lace
I believed you would come tenderly bringing me divine
Love, like a blooming flower in your gaze.
I wished to see you beautiful on my land
I have, in clear day, fervently waited here
To give you my soul by giving you my hand
The gold of the sunset fades, and you did not appear.
The shadows of April are already progressing
The evening, furtively, hastens across the sky,
The loneliness of mourning enters my dwelling
I feel cold at heart because you did not come by.
Translated by Emma French, 2023