The fountains | In order for your pure laughter - young, tender, and light

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by Henri Francois-Joseph de Régnier (1864 - 1936)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Pour que ton rire pur, jeune, tendre et...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER

Pour que ton rire pur, jeune, tendre et léger,
    S'épanouisse en fleur sonore,
Il faut qu'avril verdisse aux pousses du verger,
    Plus vertes d'aurore en aurore,

Il faut que l'air égal annonce le printemps
    Et que la première hirondelle
Rase d'un vol aigu les roseaux de l'étang
    Qui mire son retour fidèle !

Mais, quoique l'écho rie à ton rire avec toi,
    Goutte à goutte et d'une eau lointaine,
N'entends-tu pas gémir et répondre à ta voix
    La plainte faible des fontaines ?

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Text Authorship:

by Henri Francois-Joseph de Régnier (1864 - 1936), "Épigramme", written 1902, appears in La Cité des eaux, in Odes et poésies, no. 9, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1902 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 83

The fountains

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Language: English after the French (Français)

In order for your pure laughter - young, tender, and light -
  To open up sonorously, like a flower,
April must turn the orchard green with buds,
  Growing more green from one dawn to the next;

The pleasant air must announce the spring,
  And the first swallow,
In powerful flight, must skim the reeds of the pond
  That reflects its loyal return!

But although the echo of your laughter laughs with you,
  There is a dripping of far-off water...
Do you not hear moaning and responding to your voice
  The faint lament of the fountains?

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Translation of title "Les fontaines" = "The fountains"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2018 by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Henri Francois-Joseph de Régnier (1864 - 1936), "Épigramme", written 1902, appears in La Cité des eaux, in Odes et poésies, no. 9, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1902
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This text was added to the website: 2018-01-02
Line count: 12
Word count: 94