Five Poems from "Le jardin des caresses" by Franz Toussaint

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Marcel Bernheim (1892 - 1963)

View original-language texts alone: Cinq Poèmes Arabes extraits du “Jardin des Caresses” de Franz Toussaint

1. La lumière lointaine  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Cette larme est tombée d’un astre, ô Aziza,
elle brille au sommet de la colline qui abrite ta demeure.

O Aziza, toi-même torche éblouissante qui illumines ma nuit ! 
O Aziza impétueuse, cette goutte de feu au sommet de la colline,
je la contemple, et je pense.

Toute l'odeur du désert monte d'une caravane
accroupie sur la place des citernes,
et une flûte sauvage fait rêver les chameliers.

Je m'endormirai, le visage tourné vers cette lumière 
qui brille au sommet de la colline, 
comme un voyageur attend l'aube pour apercevoir un lieu vénéré.

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Confirmed with La Revue de Paris, Paris: Bureau de la Revue de Paris, 1910, page 878.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. Distant Light
Language: English 
This tear is fallen from a star, O Aziza,
it glistens at the top of the hill that shelters your abode.

O Aziza, yourself a dazzling torch that lights my night!
O impetuous Aziza, that droplet of fire at the top of the hill,
I gaze at it and I ponder.

All the fragrance of the desert rises from a caravan
that crouches at the place of the cisterns,
and a wild flute stirs the camel-drivers' dreams.

I will go to sleep, my face turned to that light
that glistens at the top of the hill,
as a traveler waits for dawn to glimpse a sacred place.

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-02-26
Line count: 11
Word count: 107

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. Solitude  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Comme chaque jour, je l'attends. Reviendra-t-elle ? 
Je pense au soir de l'adieu, 
au bruit de la porte qu'elle referma sans colère,
au silence qu'il y eut dans mon âme. 
Comme chaque jour, je l'attends. Reviendra-t-elle ?
Elle entrerait en disant, pour parler : 
« Je passais devant ta demeure,  
et je viens voir si les roses n'ont pas souffert de l'hiver... » 
Puis, elle sourirait à mon petit jardin, à l'horizon calme,
et je sais bien qu'elle ne repartirait pas.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: L'édition d'Art H. Piazza, 1921, pages 124-125.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. Loneliness
Language: English 
As I do every day, I wait for her. Will she return?
I think of the night of our farewell,
Of the noise of the door that she closed without anger,
Of the silence that filled my soul.
As I do every day, I wait for her. Will she return? 
She would come in and say, just to say something, 
"I was passing by your house, 
and I am coming to see if the roses haven't suffered from the winter ... " 
Then, she would smile at my little garden, at the calm horizon, 
and I am sure that she wouldn't leave again.

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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Translations of titles:
"La Solitude" = "Loneliness"
"Solitude" = "Loneliness"



This text was added to the website: 2026-02-26
Line count: 10
Word count: 102

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. Clair de lune  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Sur un jardin fardé de lune, l'ombre noire d'un olivier s'arrondit. 
Sur la joue pâle d'une jeune fille, un amant a posé sa bouche. 
L'ombre de l'olivier tourne sur le jardin. 
La bouche de l'amant parcourt le visage de la jeune fille.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: L'édition d'Art H. Piazza, 1921, p.56


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3. Moonlight
Language: English 
Over a garden painted with moonlight, the black shadow of an olive tree spreads. 
Over the pale cheek of a maiden, a lover has set his mouth. 
The shadow of the olive tree moves over the garden. 
The mouth of the lover traverses the face of the maiden.

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-02-25
Line count: 4
Word count: 48

Translation © by Grant Hicks
4. Après  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Elle s’était endormie dans mes bras.
Pour la protéger contre la fraicheur de la nuit,
j’avais doucement étalé ses cheveux sur ses [seins]1.
Dans l'herbe, autour de nous, les insectes reprenaient un à un leur musique. 
[A cette heure, des mères berçaient aussi]2 leur petite fille...

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le Jardin des caresses, Paris: L'Édition d'Art H. Piazza, 1921, Page 35.

1 Bonhomme: "épaules"
2 Bonhomme: "C'est l'heure où les mères bercent"

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
4. After
Language: English 
She had fallen asleep in my arms.
To protect her from the chill of the night,
I had gently spread her hair over her [breasts]1.
In the grass around us, the insects one by one resumed their music.
[At that hour, mothers were also rocking]2 their little daughter...

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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View text without footnotes
1 Bonhomme: "shoulders"
2 Bonhomme: "It is the hour when mothers rock"


This text was added to the website: 2025-09-13
Line count: 5
Word count: 51

Translation © by Grant Hicks
5. Le sommeil des faucons  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Repus d’azur, ils dorment.
Du sang macule encore leur bec, 
et leurs serres étreignent le barreau d'ivoire. 

Ainsi dors-tu quelquefois, rassasiée d'amour,
la bouche meurtrie, 
et tes bras noués autour de mon corps.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: H. Piazza, 1919, p.62.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
5. The Sleep of Falcons
Language: English 
Sated with azure, they sleep. 
Blood still stains their beaks,
and their talons embrace the ivory bar. 

Thus do you sometimes sleep, satiated with love,
your mouth bruised,
and your arms knotted around my body.

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-02-26
Line count: 6
Word count: 35

Translation © by Grant Hicks