Spoon River Anthology — Page 5

English → Fr Full Text Level 4/10

That is my husband who, by secret cruelty

C'est mon mari qui, par une cruauté secrète,

Never to be told, robbed me of my youth and my beauty;

Que l'on ne pourra jamais dire, m'a volé ma jeunesse et ma beauté ;

Till at last, wrinkled and with yellow teeth,

Jusqu'à ce qu'enfin, ridée et aux dents jaunes,

And with broken pride and shameful humility,

Et avec une fierté brisée et une humilité honteuse,

I sank into the grave.

Je sombrai dans la tombe.

But what think you gnaws at my husband's heart?

Mais que pensez-vous qui ronge le cœur de mon mari ?

The face of what I was, the face of what he made me!

Le visage de ce que j'étais, le visage de ce qu'il a fait de moi !

These are driving him to the place where I lie.

Ce sont eux qui le poussent vers le lieu où je repose.

In death, therefore, I am avenged.

Dans la mort, ainsi, je suis vengée.

Fletcher McGee

She took my strength by minutes,

Elle prit ma force minute après minute,

She took my life by hours,

Elle prit ma vie heure après heure,

She drained me like a fevered moon

Elle m'épuisa comme une lune fiévreuse

That saps the spinning world.

Qui sape le monde en rotation.

The days went by like shadows,

Les jours passèrent comme des ombres,

The minutes wheeled like stars.

Les minutes tournoyèrent comme des étoiles.

She took the pity from my heart,

Elle prit la pitié de mon cœur,

And made it into smiles.

Et en fit des sourires.

She was a hunk of sculptor's clay,

Elle était un bloc d'argile de sculpteur,

My secret thoughts were fingers:

Mes pensées secrètes étaient des doigts :

They flew behind her pensive brow

Ils volèrent derrière son front pensif

And lined it deep with pain.

Et le sillonnèrent profondément de douleur.

They set the lips, and sagged the cheeks,

Ils figèrent les lèvres, et affaissèrent les joues,

And drooped the eye with sorrow.

Et alourdirent le regard de chagrin.

My soul had entered in the clay,

Mon âme était entrée dans l'argile,

Fighting like seven devils.

Se battant comme sept diables.

It was not mine, it was not hers;

Elle n'était pas mienne, elle n'était pas sienne ;

She held it, but its struggles

Elle la tenait, mais ses luttes

Modeled a face she hated,

Modelèrent un visage qu'elle haïssait,

And a face I feared to see.

Et un visage que je craignais de voir.

I beat the windows, shook the bolts.

Je frappai les fenêtres, secouai les verrous.

I hid me in a corner

Je me cachai dans un coin

And then she died and haunted me,

Et puis elle mourut et me hanta,

And hunted me for life.

Et me pourchassa toute ma vie.

Vocabulary

est: Third person singular present tense of être (to be)
mon: Possessive adjective meaning my (masculine singular)
mari: Husband; male spouse in a marriage
qui: Relative pronoun meaning who, which, that
par: Preposition meaning by, through, or per
une: Indefinite article meaning a or an (feminine)
cruauté: Cruelty; the quality of being deliberately harmful
secrète: Secret; hidden or concealed from others
Que: Conjunction meaning that; relative pronoun what
on: Pronoun meaning one, we, or people in general
ne: Negative particle used with verbs in negation
pourra: Third person singular future tense of pouvoir (can)
jamais: Never; at no time or on no occasion
dire: To say, tell, or speak words aloud
volé: Past participle of voler; stolen or robbed
ma: Possessive adjective meaning my (feminine singular)
jeunesse: Youth; the period of being young
et: Conjunction meaning and; used to connect words
beauté: Beauty; quality of being physically attractive
Jusqu: Until or up to a certain point in time
ce: Demonstrative pronoun meaning this, that, it
qu: Conjunction or relative pronoun (shortened form)
enfin: Finally; at last or in the end
ridée: Wrinkled; marked with wrinkles or creases
aux: Preposition à combined with plural article les
dents: Teeth; hard structures in the mouth for chewing
jaunes: Yellow; the color between orange and green
Et: Conjunction meaning and; connects words or phrases
avec: Preposition meaning with or alongside something
fierté: Pride; feeling of dignity or self-respect
brisée: Broken; shattered or damaged beyond repair
humilité: Humility; quality of being humble and modest
honteuse: Shameful; causing or feeling shame or embarrassment
Je: First person singular pronoun meaning I
sombrai: First person singular past tense of sombrer (sank)
dans: Preposition meaning in, into, or within
la: Definite article meaning the (feminine singular)
tombe: Tomb or grave; place where dead are buried
Mais: Conjunction meaning but; expresses contrast
pensez: Second person plural present tense of penser (think)
vous: You; formal or plural second person pronoun
ronge: Third person singular of ronger; gnaws or eats away
le: Definite article meaning the (masculine singular)
cœur: Heart; the organ that pumps blood
visage: Face; front of the head from forehead to chin
étais: First person singular imperfect tense of être (was)
il: Third person singular masculine pronoun meaning he
fait: Third person singular present of faire; does, makes
moi: First person singular stressed pronoun meaning me
Ce: Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning this, that
sont: Third person plural present tense of être (are)
eux: Third person plural masculine pronoun meaning them
poussent: Third person plural present of pousser; push toward
vers: Preposition meaning toward, to, or in direction of
lieu: Place; location or spot where something occurs
où: Relative adverb meaning where or in which
repose: Third person singular of reposer; rests or lies
Dans: Preposition meaning in, into, or within something
mort: Death; the end of life or being alive
ainsi: Thus; in this manner or this way
suis: First person singular present of être (am)
vengée: Avenged; got revenge or retaliation for wrong
prit: Third person singular past tense of prendre (took)
force: Force; strength or power to do something
minute: Minute; unit of time equal to sixty seconds
après: Preposition meaning after or following something
vie: Life; the state of being alive and living
heure: Hour; period of time lasting sixty minutes
épuisa: Third person singular past of épuiser; exhausted
comme: As, like, or just as; comparison or similarity
lune: Moon; celestial body orbiting the Earth
fiévreuse: Feverish; having or characterized by fever
Qui: Relative pronoun meaning who or which

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →