What Makes Home Happier
Poem
Mon cher Papa
J'avais appris un compliment,
Et j'accourais pour célébrer ta fête,
On y parlait de sentiment
De tendre amour, d'ardeur parfaite ;
Mais j'ai tout oublié,
Lorsque je suis venu,
Je t'aime est le seul mot que j'ai bien retenu.
Stéphane Mallarmé (aged twelve)
Dear Dad
I had learned a compliment
And was running to you to celebrate your day,
It spoke of sentiment
Of tender love and of my ardent way;
But I had forgotten it all,
When I reached you,
I love you were the only words I could recall.
Stéphane Mallarmé (translated by Olivier Holmey)
Listen
Read by Olivier Holmey
Music
L’Enfance
Léo Ferré
Image
Child Drawing, Félix-Hilaire Buhot
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington