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Ce ne sont pas des souvenirs qui, en moi, t'entretiennent ; tu n'es pas non plus mienne par la force d'un beau désir. Ce qui te rend présente, c'est le détour ardent qu'une tendresse lente décrit dans mon propre sang. Je suis sans besoin de te voir apparaître ; il m'a suffi de naître pour te perdre un peu moins.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete French Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, Saint Paul: Greywolf Press, 1986, Page 174.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Portrait intérieur", appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 31 [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 Gordon Ware Binkerd (1916 - 2003), "Ce ne sont pas des souvenirs", 1972, published 1973 [ mezzo-soprano, violin, violoncello ], from Portrait intérieur, no. 2, New York : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elisabeth Gillioz (b. 1961), "Il m'a suffi de naître" [ mixed chorus ], Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jake Heggie (b. 1961), "Portrait intérieure", 1988 [ voice and piano ], from Trois poèmes intérieurs de Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierrette Mari (b. 1929), "Ce ne sont pas des souvenirs", 1959 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joshua Shank (b. 1980), "Bell absence", 2009 [ soprano and piano ], from Trois Méditations, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-06-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 58
It isn't memories that keep you alive for me; nor are you mine by dint of a beautiful desire. What keeps you with me is the ardent detour that a slow tenderness describes in my own blood. I have no need to see you appear; being born was enough for me to lose you a little less.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Ce ne sont pas des souvenirs" = "It isn't memories"
"Il m'a suffi de naître" = "Being born was enough for me"
"Portrait intérieur" = "Interior Portrait"
"Portrait intérieure" = "Interior Portrait"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 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 Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Portrait intérieur", appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 31
This text was added to the website: 2025-08-08
Line count: 12
Word count: 57