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Puisque tes jours ne t'ont laissé Qu'un peu de cendre dans la bouche, Avant qu'on ne tende la couche Où ton cœur dorme, enfin glacé, Retourne, comme au temps passé, Cueillir, près de la dune instable, Le lys qu'y courbe un souffle amer, — Et grave ces mots sur le sable : Le rêve de l'homme est semblable Aux illusions de la mer.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Paul-Jean Toulet, Les contrerimes, Paris: Emile-Paul Frères, 1923, page 116.
Text Authorship:
- by Paul-Jean Toulet (1867 - 1920), no title, appears in Les Contrerimes, in Dixains, no. 12, Paris, Éd. Le Divan, first published 1921 [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 Beydts (1896 - 1953), "Puisque tes jours ne t'ont laissé", 1945, published 1946 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from d’Ombre et de soleil, no. 8, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jacques Leguerney (1906 - 1997), "Puisque tes jours", 1943 [ voice and piano ], from Dix Poèmes de Paul-Jean Toulet, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2011-06-03
Line count: 10
Word count: 62
Since your life has left you With an aftertaste of ashes, Before that bed is made Where your heart can sleep, finally still, Return as you once did, To pick, near the shifting sands, The lily bent over by the bitter beath of the wind, —And write these words in the sand : The dreams of man can no more be held on to Than the illusive waves of the sea.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Puisque tes jours" = "Since your life"
"Puisque tes jours ne t'ont laissé" = "Since your life has left you"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Laura Stanfield 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 Paul-Jean Toulet (1867 - 1920), no title, appears in Les Contrerimes, in Dixains, no. 12, Paris, Éd. Le Divan, first published 1921
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-21
Line count: 10
Word count: 70