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Officiers de la garde blanche, Gardez-moi de certaines pensées la nuit, Gardez-moi des corps à corps et de l'appui D'une main sur ma hanche. Gardez-moi surtout de lui Qui par la manche m'entraîne Vers le hasard des mains pleines, Et les ailleurs d'eau qui luit. Epargnez-moi les tourments en tourmente De l'aimer un jour plus qu'aujourd'hui Et la froide moiteur des attentes Qui presseront aux vitres et aux portes Mon profil de dame déjà morte. Officiers de la garde blanche, Je ne veux pas pleurer pour lui Sur terre. Je veux pleurer en pluie Sur sa terre, sur son astre orné de buis, Lorsque plus tard je planerai transparente Au-dessus des cent pas d'ennui. Officiers des consciences pures, Vous qui faites les visages beaux, Confiez dans l'espace, au vol des oiseaux, Un message pour les chercheurs de mesures Et forgez pour nous des chaînes sans anneaux.
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Text Authorship:
- by Louise de Vilmorin (1902 - 1969), "Officiers de la Garde Blanche", written 1937, appears in Fiançailles pour rire, no. 9, Paris, Éd. NRF Gallimard, first published 1939 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Aux Officiers de la garde blanche", FP 91 no. 3 (1937), published 1938 [ soprano and piano ], from Trois Poèmes de Louise de Vilmorin, no. 3, Éditions Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "To the officers of the White Guard", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 146
Officers of the White Guard, Guard me from certain thoughts, at night, Guard me from hand-to-hand contact and the feel Of a hand on my hip. Guard me above all from he Who by the sleeve drags me Toward the hazard of an embrace And elsewhere of water that shines. Spare me the torment of pain From loving him more one day than I do today, And the cold dampness of expectation Which will leave an impression on the windows and the doors of My profile: that of a lady already dead. Officers of the White Guard, I don’t want to weep for him On earth, I want to weep in rain, On his land, on his carved boxwood star, When later I may float transparently, Above one hundred steps of ennui. Officers of pure consciences, You who make faces beautiful, Trust in space, in the flight of birds, A message for those seeking action, And forge for us chains without rings.
Translator's notes
Title and line 1: "White Guard" - i.e., angels
Line 1-2: "me" - i.e., the poet as repentant sinner
Line 2-3: "embrace" - literally “full hands” or “full arms”
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 by Laura Prichard, (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:
- a text in French (Français) by Louise de Vilmorin (1902 - 1969), "Officiers de la Garde Blanche", written 1937, appears in Fiançailles pour rire, no. 9, Paris, Éd. NRF Gallimard, first published 1939
This text was added to the website: 2019-12-03
Line count: 24
Word count: 162