by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Darest thou now O Soul
Language: English 
Our translations:  FRE GER
Choose for Diff
Darest thou now O Soul,
Walk out with me toward the Unknown Region,
Where neither ground is for the feet
   nor any path to follow?

No map there, nor guide,
Nor voice sounding, nor touch of human hand,
Nor face with blooming flesh,
   nor lips, nor eyes, are in that land.

I know it not O Soul;
Nor dost thou -- all is a blank before us;
All waits, undream'd of, in that region,
   that inaccessible land.

Till when the ties loosen,
All but the ties eternal, Time and Space,
Nor darkness, gravitation, sense,
   nor any bounds, bound us.

Then we burst forth — we float,
In Time and Space, O Soul, prepared for them;
Equal, equipt at last, -- 
   (O joy! O fruit of all!) them to fulfil, O Soul.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   E. Bacon •   H. Henze •   M. Owen •   W. Schuman •   C. Stanford •   F. Valen 

W. Schuman sets stanzas 1-3

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Walt Whitman Archive,Leaves of Grass (1891 version)

Note: the indented lines have been broken off from the preceding lines so that parallel translations will be easier to see. This poem has five stanzas of three lines each.


Text Authorship:

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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ted Perry , Justin Miller [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 138

Oses‑tu maintenant, ô âme
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
Oses-tu maintenant, ô âme
Venir marcher avec moi vers la Région Inconnue,
Où il n'y a pas de sol
 pour les pieds ni de chemin à suivre.

Pas de carte là, pas de guide,
Pas de voix qui résonne, pas de toucher de main humaine,
Pas de visage avec une chair épanouie,
 pas de lèvres, pas d'yeux, dans ce pays.

Je ne le connais pas, ô âme ;
Toi non plus -- tout est blanc devant nous ;
Tout attend, sans rêves, dans cette région,
 ce pays inaccessible.

Jusqu'à ce que les liens soient desserrés,
Tout sauf les liens éternels, le Temps et l'Espace,
Pas d'obscurité, de gravitation,
 de sens, pas de limites qui nous limitent.

Quand nous surgissons -- nous flottons,
Dans le Temps et l'Espace, ô âme, préparés pour eux ;
Égaux, équipés enfin, --
 (Ô joie ! Ô fruit de tout !) pour les réaliser, ô âme.

Available sung text translations:   ← What is this?

•   W. Schuman 

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Translations of titles:
"Darest thou now O soul" = "Oses-tu maintenant, ô âme"
"Scena: Towards the Unknown Region" = ".Scénario : Vers la région inconnue"
"The Unknown" = "L'Inconnue"
"The Unknown Region" = "La Région Inconnue"
"To the Soul" = "À l'âme"
"Toward the Unknown Region" = "Vers la Région Inconnue"
"Whispers from heavenly death" = "Chuchotements de la mort céleste"
"Whispers of heavenly death" = "Chuchotements de la mort céleste"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

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This text was added to the website: 2014-06-24
Line count: 20
Word count: 145