Spoon River Anthology — Page 12
And the Black-eyed cocotte took the tears for hers,
Et la cocotte aux yeux noirs prit les larmes pour les siennes,
As well as the deceiving kisses I gave her.
Ainsi que les baisers trompeurs que je lui donnai.
Somehow, from that hour, I had a new vision
D'une certaine façon, à partir de cette heure, j'eus une nouvelle vision
Dear Emily Sparks!
Chère Emily Sparks !
Emily Sparks
Emily Sparks
Where is my boy, my boy
Où est mon garçon, mon garçon
In what far part of the world?
Dans quelle contrée lointaine du monde ?
The boy I loved best of all in the school?—
Le garçon que j'aimais plus que tout à l'école ?—
I, the teacher, the old maid, the virgin heart,
Moi, l'institutrice, la vieille fille, le cœur vierge,
Who made them all my children.
Qui les fis tous mes enfants.
Did I know my boy aright,
Ai-je bien connu mon garçon,
Thinking of him as a spirit aflame,
Le voyant comme un esprit embrasé,
Active, ever aspiring?
Actif, toujours plein d'aspirations ?
Oh, boy, boy, for whom I prayed and prayed
Oh, garçon, garçon, pour qui j'ai prié et prié
In many a watchful hour at night,
Pendant bien des heures de veille dans la nuit,
Do you remember the letter I wrote you
Te souviens-tu de la lettre que je t'écrivis
Of the beautiful love of Christ?
Sur le bel amour du Christ ?
And whether you ever took it or not,
Et que tu l'aies reçue ou non,
My, boy, wherever you are,
Mon garçon, où que tu sois,
Work for your soul's sake,
Œuvre pour le salut de ton âme,
That all the clay of you, all of the dross of you,
Pour que toute l'argile en toi, toute la scorie en toi,
May yield to the fire of you,
Cède au feu en toi,
Till the fire is nothing but light!…
Jusqu'à ce que le feu ne soit plus que lumière !…
Nothing but light!
Rien que la lumière !
Trainor, the Druggist
Trainor, le pharmacien
Only the chemist can tell, and not always the chemist,
Seul le chimiste peut dire, et pas toujours le chimiste,
What will result from compounding
Ce qui résultera du mélange
Fluids or solids.
De fluides ou de solides.
And who can tell
Et qui peut dire
How men and women will interact
Comment les hommes et les femmes agiront
On each other, or what children will result?
Les uns sur les autres, ou quels enfants en résulteront ?
There were Benjamin Pantier and his wife,
Il y avait Benjamin Pantier et sa femme,
Good in themselves, but evil toward each other;
Bons en eux-mêmes, mais néfastes l'un envers l'autre ;
He oxygen, she hydrogen,
Lui, l'oxygène, elle, l'hydrogène,
Their son, a devastating fire.
Leur fils, un feu dévastateur.
I Trainor, the druggist, a miser of chemicals,
Moi, Trainor, le pharmacien, avare de produits chimiques,
Killed while making an experiment,
Tué en menant une expérience,
Lived unwedded.
Vécus sans me marier.
Vocabulary
- cocotte
- Informal term for a flirtatious or loose woman.
- yeux
- Plural of 'œil'; means 'eyes'.
- noirs
- Plural adjective meaning 'black' or 'dark'.
- prit
- Past tense of 'prendre'; meaning 'took'.
- larmes
- Noun meaning 'tears' shed from crying.
- siennes
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'her own' (feminine plural).
- Ainsi
- Adverb meaning 'thus', 'so', or 'in this way'.
- baisers
- Noun meaning 'kisses'; plural of 'baiser'.
- trompeurs
- Adjective meaning 'deceitful', 'misleading', or 'false'.
- donnai
- Past tense of 'donner'; meaning 'gave'.
- certaine
- Adjective meaning 'certain', 'specific', or 'particular'.
- façon
- Noun meaning 'way', 'manner', or 'fashion'.
- partir
- Verb meaning 'to leave' or 'to start'; used in 'à partir de'.
- heure
- Noun meaning 'hour' or 'time'.
- eus
- Past tense of 'avoir'; meaning 'had'.
- nouvelle
- Adjective meaning 'new'; also a noun meaning 'short story' or 'news'.
- vision
- Noun meaning 'vision', 'sight', or 'outlook'.
- Chère
- Adjective meaning 'dear' or 'beloved'; used in salutations.
- garçon
- Noun meaning 'boy' or informally 'waiter'.
- contrée
- Noun meaning 'land', 'region', or 'country'.
- lointaine
- Adjective meaning 'distant', 'faraway', or 'remote'.
- monde
- Noun meaning 'world' or 'people'.
- aimais
- Imperfect tense of 'aimer'; meaning 'used to love' or 'liked'.
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more', 'no longer', or 'most'.
- tout
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all', 'every', or 'whole'.
- école
- Noun meaning 'school' or educational institution.
- institutrice
- Noun meaning 'female teacher' or 'schoolmistress'.
- vieille
- Adjective meaning 'old' (feminine form).
- fille
- Noun meaning 'girl' or 'daughter'.
- cœur
- Noun meaning 'heart', used literally or figuratively.
- vierge
- Adjective meaning 'virgin', 'pure', or 'untouched'.
- fis
- Past tense of 'faire'; meaning 'made' or 'did'.
- enfants
- Noun meaning 'children'; plural of 'enfant'.
- connu
- Past participle of 'connaître'; meaning 'known' or 'met'.
- voyant
- Noun meaning 'seer' or 'visionary'; present participle of 'voir'.
- esprit
- Noun meaning 'mind', 'spirit', or 'wit'.
- embrasé
- Adjective meaning 'ablaze', 'inflamed', or 'burning'.
- Actif
- Adjective meaning 'active', 'energetic', or 'busy'.
- toujours
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'still'.
- plein
- Adjective meaning 'full' or 'filled with'.
- aspirations
- Noun meaning 'aspirations', 'ambitions', or 'yearnings'.
- prié
- Past participle of 'prier'; meaning 'prayed' or 'begged'.
- Pendant
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'for' a period of time.
- heures
- Noun meaning 'hours'; plural of 'heure'.
- veille
- Noun meaning 'eve', 'vigil', or 'the night before'.
- nuit
- Noun meaning 'night'.
- souviens-
- Imperative/inverted form of 'souvenir'; meaning 'remember'.
- lettre
- Noun meaning 'letter', a written message.
- écrivis
- Past tense of 'écrire'; meaning 'wrote'.
- bel
- Adjective meaning 'beautiful' or 'fine' (masculine before vowel).
- amour
- Noun meaning 'love' or 'affection'.
- aies
- Subjunctive of 'avoir'; meaning 'may have' or 'that you have'.
- reçue
- Past participle of 'recevoir'; meaning 'received' (feminine).
- sois
- Subjunctive of 'être'; meaning 'be' or 'may you be'.
- Œuvre
- Noun meaning 'work', 'creation', or 'oeuvre'.
- salut
- Noun meaning 'salvation', 'greeting', or 'safety'.
- âme
- Noun meaning 'soul' or 'spirit'.
- argile
- Noun meaning 'clay', a malleable natural earth material.
- scorie
- Noun meaning 'slag', 'dross', or impure byproduct of smelting.
- Cède
- Imperative of 'céder'; meaning 'yield', 'give way', or 'submit'.
- feu
- Noun meaning 'fire' or 'flame'.
- Jusqu'
- Preposition meaning 'until' or 'up to' (before vowel).
- soit
- Subjunctive of 'être'; meaning 'be' or 'let it be'.
- lumière
- Noun meaning 'light', either physical or metaphorical.
- Rien
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing'.
- pharmacien
- Noun meaning 'pharmacist' or 'druggist'.
- Seul
- Adjective meaning 'alone', 'only', or 'single'.
- chimiste
- Noun meaning 'chemist', a scientist who studies chemistry.
- dire
- Verb meaning 'to say' or 'to tell'.
- résultera
- Future tense of 'résulter'; meaning 'will result from'.
- mélange
- Noun meaning 'mixture', 'blend', or 'mix'.
- fluides
- Noun meaning 'fluids' or 'liquids'; adjective meaning 'fluid'.
- solides
- Noun meaning 'solids'; adjective meaning 'solid' or 'sturdy'.
- hommes
- Noun meaning 'men' or 'people'; plural of 'homme'.
- femmes
- Noun meaning 'women'; plural of 'femme'.
- agiront
- Future tense of 'agir'; meaning 'will act' or 'will behave'.
- uns
- Pronoun meaning 'some' or 'ones'; part of 'les uns sur les autres'.
- autres
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'others' or 'other'.
- résulteront
- Future tense of 'résulter'; meaning 'will result' or 'will follow'.
- avait
- Imperfect tense of 'avoir'; meaning 'had' or 'there was'.
- femme
- Noun meaning 'woman' or 'wife'.
- Bons
- Adjective meaning 'good' (masculine plural).
- mêmes
- Pronoun meaning 'themselves' or adjective meaning 'same'.
- néfastes
- Adjective meaning 'harmful', 'disastrous', or 'ill-fated'.
- envers
- Preposition meaning 'toward', 'with respect to', or 'towards'.
- oxygène
- Noun meaning 'oxygen', the chemical element O.
- hydrogène
- Noun meaning 'hydrogen', the lightest chemical element.
- fils
- Noun meaning 'son'; also means 'thread' in another context.
- dévastateur
- Adjective meaning 'devastating', 'destructive', or 'ruinous'.
- avare
- Adjective or noun meaning 'miserly', 'greedy', or 'miser'.
- produits
- Noun meaning 'products' or 'substances'; plural of 'produit'.
- chimiques
- Adjective meaning 'chemical'; relating to chemistry.
- Tué
- Past participle of 'tuer'; meaning 'killed'.
- menant
- Present participle of 'mener'; meaning 'leading' or 'conducting'.
- expérience
- Noun meaning 'experience' or 'experiment'.
- Vécus
- Past tense of 'vivre'; meaning 'lived'.
- sans
- Preposition meaning 'without'.
- marier
- Verb meaning 'to marry' or 'to wed'.
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