Rilke's French Rose Poems In Translation - XVIII

Photo by Clarissa Aykroyd, 2016


Here's the latest in my very slow-to-appear series of translations of Rainer Maria Rilke's Rose poems, from French. The original is below the translation.


THE ROSES (Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Clarissa Aykroyd)


XVIII

You share all things that move us.
But we are unaware of your changes.
We could only read your pages
in the form of a hundred butterflies.

Some of you are like dictionaries;
those who pluck them
just want to re-read them.
As for me, I love rose-letters.



LES ROSES


XVIII

Tout ce qui nous émeut, tu le partages.

Mais ce qui t’arrive, nous l’ignorons.

Il faudrait être cent papillons

pour lire toutes tes pages.

Il y en a d’entre vous qui sont comme des dictionnaires;

ceux qui les cueillent

ont envie de faire relier toutes ces feuilles.

Moi, j’aime les roses épistolaires.

Translation  © Clarissa Aykroyd, 2016