English translation of Aimons-nous et rêvons

by Ernest Moret (1871 - 1949), "Aimons-nous et rêvons", published 1919 [ high voice and piano ], from Sous le ciel de l'Islam, no. 11, Paris, Éd. Heugel

Note: this is a translation of one multi-text setting.

Aimons-nous et rêvons, nous n'aurons pas toujours 
Ce ciel devant nos yeux, doux comme une soierie :
Les morts ne la voient pas, la belle nuit fleurie 
Qui nous caresse et fait plus tendres nos amours.

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Confirmed with Henri Cazalis, Œuvres de Jean Lahor: En Orient,  Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 22.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] 
Mets mon front sur ton sein, mets ta main sur mes yeux :
Ah ! cache-moi la mort, et cache-moi la vie ! 
Rien au monde que toi, rien ne faisant envie 
A mon cœur caressé par ton toucher soyeux.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 22.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] 
Ainsi que le croyant le sol de la mosquée, 
Agenouillé, tremblant, je baise avec transport, 
Temple aussi de ma foi, toute ta chair musquée, 
Perdu dans un amour qui ressemble à la mort.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 23.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Il n'est nulle douceur comme celle d’aimer, 
Ni fièvre dévorante égalant cette fièvre, 
Ni fruit délicieux qui sache alors calmer 
Ma lèvre, en s’y fondant, comme le fait ta lèvre.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 19.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
Let’s love each other and dream: we will not always have
This sky before our eyes, soft like silk:
The dead do not see it anymore, this beautiful flowering night
That caresses us and makes our loves more tender.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2023 by Anyi Sharma, (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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Place my brow on your breast, place your hand over my eyes:
Ah ! hide death from me, and hide life from me!
Nothing in the world but you, nothing to tempt
My heart caressed by your silken touch.

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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As the believer kisses the floor of the mosque,
Kneeling, trembling, I kiss with rapture
All your musky flesh, temple likewise of my faith,
Lost in a love that resembles death.

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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There is no sweetness like that of being in love,
Nor consuming fever to equal that fever,
Nor delicious fruit that then can soothe 
My lips, by melting into them, as your lips do.

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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Translation © by Anyi Sharma, Grant Hicks