Midafternoon Prayer | I watched for that smile and that surprised look that you have

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Prière de trois heures

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

J’épiais ce sourire et ce regard étonné que tu as 
quand tu émerges du sommeil, ô ma secrète bien-aimée ! 
Comme j’ai attendu ! Le vent disperse la brume de chaleur 
qui noyait le ciel et le désert... 
C’est l’heure où les caravanes repartent. 
Ton corps a la courbe d’une oasis.

Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le Jardin des caresses, H. Piazza, Paris : 1921, p.113

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Prière de trois heures ", subtitle: "(Asr)", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 117 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Claude Guillon (1879 - 1956), as Claude Guillon-Verne, "Prière de trois heures", copyright © 1923 [ voice and piano ], from Sept Poèmes arabes tirés du "Jardin des Caresses", no. 5, Paris : Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2024-12-21
Line count: 6
Word count: 49

Midafternoon Prayer

Language: English after the French (Français)

I watched for that smile and that surprised look that you have 
when you emerge from sleep, O my secret beloved! 
How I have waited for you! The wind disperses the haze of heat
that was flooding the sky and the desert ... 
It is the hour when the caravans set off again. 
Your body has the contour of an oasis.

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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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Prière de trois heures ", subtitle: "(Asr)", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 117
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-01
Line count: 6
Word count: 60