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[Demeure]1 ainsi, penchée sur ton cœur. Tes paupières sont deux pétales de [clématite bleue,]2 et [ta bouche est une]3 longue framboise. [Demeure]1 ainsi. Une mèche de tes cheveux a glissé sur ton front, comme une hirondelle apprivoisée se poserait sur un coffret d’ivoire, et je ne sais si ce poudroiement vermeil est ta joue. La clématite s’est repliée : pourquoi m’as-tu regardé ? L’hirondelle s’est envolée : pourquoi as-tu refoulé ta mèche ? La framboise s’est déchirée : pourquoi m’as-tu souris ?
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: L'édition d'art H. Piazza, 1921, p. 108
1 Aubert: "Reste"2 Aubert: "clématite/ Que l’été aurait pâlies,"
3 Aubert: "je ne vois de tes lèvres qu’une"
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le visage penché", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 111, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Louis Aubert (1877 - 1968), "Le visage penché", 1917, published 1917 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Six poèmes arabes, no. 3, Paris, Édition Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Downcast Face", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2022-05-02
Line count: 13
Word count: 80
Stay like that, bent over your heart. Your pupils are two petals of [blue clematis,]1 and [your mouth is]2 a long raspberry. Stay like that. A lock of your hair Has slipped across your forehead, as a tame swallow might alight on an ivory box, and I don't know if this rosy dusting is your cheek. The clematis has closed up: why did you look at me? The swallow has taken wing: why did you brush back your hair? The raspberry has burst open: why did you smile at me?
1 Aubert: "clematis/ That summer has faded,"
2 Aubert: "all I see of your lips is"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le visage penché", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 111, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-25
Line count: 13
Word count: 92