Translations by Judith Skillman and Jean-Marcel Gayraud

Je Te Hais!

Je te hais! mon amour
pour m’avoir guidée
dans le labyrinthe.
Pour m’avoir rendu
le chemin si facile
jusqu’au mur où les femmes
sont lapidées.

I Hate You!

I hate you! my love
for having guided me
into the labyrinth.
For having given me
the pathway so easily
just up to the wall where the women
are stoned.

Le Condor

Le condor, ce Prince
de la dernière heure,
me regarde.

Il semble me dire,
je t’aimerai jusqu’au
squelette.

Je lui crie,
je suis vivante!
vivante!
Le condor me regarde,
il attend.

The Condor

The condor, this prince
of the last hour,
looks at me.

He seems to say to me,
I will love you until you become a
skeleton.

I scream at him,
I am alive!
Alive!
The condor looks at me,
he waits.

Des Jardins Suspendus

Je veux mettre sous mes paupières,
des jardins suspendus,
des contes à dormir debout.

Je veux garder une minute de silence
pour tes plaines de sable.

Tes lèvres chercheront la réponse
dans les odeurs de l’été,
dans la moiteur des vents du sud.
Tes mains auront traversé des pays,
elles seront étranges à respirer.

The Hanging Gardens

I want to put them beneath my eyes,
these hanging gardens,
their stories have the charm of sleep.

I want to keep a minute of silence
for your flat lands of sand.

Your lips would have found the answer
in the scents of summer,
in the dampness of the south wind.
Your hands would have gone through some countries,
they would be strangers to breathing.