CHANSON D'AUTOMNE	SONG OF AUTUMN
Paul Verlaine	trans. James Kirkup (haiku)
Les sanglots longs Des violons De l'automne Blessent mon coeur D'une langueur Monotone. Tout suffocant Et blême, quand Sonne l'heure, Je me souviens Des jours anciens Et je pleure; Et je m'en vais Au vent mauvais Qui m'emporte Deçà, delà, Pareil à la Feuille morte.	Long moans on autumn's saxophones - wound my heart with languor's monotones Wan suffocations - as hours creep - remembering days gone by - I weep - Borne on weary winds, my grief - hither and thither - a withering leaf

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Translator's note: Because the English "violin" does not have the resonance
of the French "violon", I have changed the instrument to a saxophone, invented
by Adolphe Sax, who died in Paris in 1894, only two years before Paul Verlaine.

Trans. Copyright: James Kirkup

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