At Day 772 of the Daily Poems, we usher in our new theme. Our translator poet Timothy Adès brings us the regrets expressed by French poet Gérard de Nerval (1808-1855) for his lost youth. Hélas! La recherche du temps perdu!
In the Luxembourg Gardens
Gérard de Nerval
Translated by Timothy Adès
She passed by, she was young,
lithe as bird on the wing,
in her hand a bright flower,
on her lips a new song.
Could her heart, of all hearts,
give my heart a response?
Could she lighten my dark
with the fire of her glance?
But no, my youth is finished…
farewell, sweet ray that shone,
girl, music, perfume, vanished:
happiness, passing, gone!
Gérard de Nerval
Translated from French by Timothy Adès
