L' AMOUREUSE

“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” - Plato

The curious state of being in love that we find ourselves in at some stage of our lives colours our existence as long as we live thereafter. Loving and being loved is certainly a magical feeling and the poets, artists, musicians have all striven to capture the magic of this.

For Song Saturday today, a poem by French poet Paul Éluard, one of the founders of the surrealist movement in literature. It has been set to music and sung by Greek songstress Nena Venetsanou. This song always washes over me like a gently lapping sea on a quiet inlet, its silvery watery notes caressing me like the hands of the beloved.



L'AMOUREUSE

Elle est debout sur mes paupières
Et ses cheveux sont dans les miens,
Elle a la forme de mes mains,
Elle a la couleur de mes yeux,
Elle s'engloutit dans mon ombre
Comme une pierre sur le ciel.

Elle a toujours les yeux ouverts
Et ne me laisse pas dormir.
Ses rêves en pleine lumière
Font s'évaporer les soleils,
Ils me font rire, pleurer et rire,
Parler sans avoir rien à dire.

Paul Éluard (1895-1952)

THE BELOVED

She is upright on my eyelids
And her hair is in mine,
She has the shape of my hands,
She has the colour of my eyes,
She is absorbed in my shadow
Like a stone in the sky.

She always has wide-open eyes
And doesn’t let me sleep.
Her dreams in full light
Evaporate the suns,
They make me laugh, cry and laugh,
Talking without having anything to say.