Memories
Poem
Souvenirs
Voyez partir l’hirondelle,
Elle fuit à tire d’aile,
Mais revient toujours fidèle,
A son nid,
Sitôt que des hivers le grand froid est fini.
L’homme, au gré de son envie,
Errant promène sa vie
Par le souvenir suivie
De ces lieux
Où sourit son enfance, où dorment ses aïeux.
Et puis, quand il sent que l’âge
A glacé son grand courage,
Il les regrette et, plus sage,
Vient chercher
Un tranquille bonheur près de son vieux clocher.
Guy de Maupassant
Memories
Notice how the swallow departs,
Taking flight with strong wingbeats,
But returns ever faithful
To its nest
As soon as the severe cold of winter is over.
Man, according to his fancy,
Wandering, leads his life
Followed by the memory
Of the places
Where his childhood dwells, where his ancestors sleep.
And then, when he feels that age
Has chilled his great courage,
He regrets them and, grown wiser,
Comes back to find
A peaceful contentment by his old bell-tower.
Guy de Maupassant (translated by Carol Holmey)
Read by Youness Bouzinab
Music
I’m Going Back Home
Nina Simone
Image
Vétheuil in Summer, Claude Monet
Courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York