We like to post seasonal poetry from around the world. Now that summer’s here we’d like to share this French poem about summer that will heat you up!
Below you’ll find the original French text to the poem Chaleur (Heat) by Anna de Noailles with a recording and an English translation.
MP3 Recording of the poem "Chaleur"
Chaleur
Par Anna de Noailles
Tout luit, tout bleuit, tout bruit,
Le jour est brûlant comme un fruit
Que le soleil fendille et cuit.
Chaque petite feuille est chaude
Et miroite dans l’air où rôde
Comme un parfum de reine-claude.
Du soleil comme de l’eau pleut
Sur tout le pays jaune et bleu
Qui grésille et oscille un peu.
Un infini plaisir de vivre
S’élance de la forêt ivre,
Des blés roses comme du cuivre.
Heat
Everything shines, turns blue, rustles,
The day is searing like a fruit
That the sun cracks et cooks.
Every little leaf is hot
And shimmers in the air where
A fragrance like plum* lingers.
The sun like water rains down
On the whole land, yellow and bleu
Sizzling and oscillating a little.
An infinite pleasure of living
Rushes forward from the drunken forest
Of pink wheat like copper.
*Specifically greengage plum.
MP3 Recording by Monique Palomares
English translation by Lisa Yannucci
Image: Four Greengages (detail) by Johann Wilhelm Preyer
Many thanks to Monique for recording this poem for us and for helping to clarify its meaning. Monique works with us on the French and Spanish versions of Mama Lisa’s World.
This article was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2015 at 2:34 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, France, French, French Poems, Languages, MP3's of Poems, Poems, Poetry, Poetry about Summer, Poetry about the Seasons, Poets, Recordings, Recordings of Poems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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