Paul Verlaine—translated by myself

[ian-gazarek.livejournal.com]

"It rains gently on the town" -Arthur Rimbaud

—

It rains in my heart
like it rains on the town.
What is this pallor
that sinks through my chest?

Oh, rain's gentle sound
against the earth and on the rooftops!
For the restless heart,
oh, the aria of the rain!

It rains without thought
in this heart without a soul.
What; is it not a betrayal?
This requiem is meaningless.

It is truly the final sorrow
to not understand why—
without love and without hate—
my heart feels such pain.

Comments

[bardcat.livejournal.com]

beautiful!

[ian-gazarek.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[upatmidnight.livejournal.com]

a simple concept...
with a heavy meaning...
lovely...
thank you for sharing...
*soft smile*

[ian-gazarek.livejournal.com]

Of course.

[hellomdolly.livejournal.com]

have you ever seen Total Eclipse?

it's about those two, verlaine and rimbaud.

and this poem fits in perfectly with the story that was portrayed. I've been looking for awhile for anything by either of them. do you have more?

[ian-gazarek.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it, no. Thanks for telling me about it. I don't have anything else in English, and I don't really feel inclined to do any other translations at the moment. There's plenty of Verlaine's stuff available online in French, and tons of translations of this particular poem are available, but his other poems are less legendary and more rarely translated. You know, you may have more luck than I had. I was only looking for this particular poem, so I didn't scour too thoroughly, but if you do a Google search for Verlaine or Rimbaud or some words from this poem you might come up with something.