My Translation of Rainer Maria Rilke's 'Song'

 

I translated this French poem by Rainer Maria Rilke some time ago. It isn't a very ambitious translation, but I found it to be such a beautiful poem that I didn't want to mess around with it too much - just be faithful to it (yes, I know it's a poem, not a relationship).

You can find the original French poem after the translation.

(For anyone who might wonder or care, I promise I'm going to get back to my translations of the Rose poems very soon.)

SONG (Rainer Maria Rilke, translated from French by Clarissa Aykroyd)

You, to whom I don't confide

my long wakeful nights,

You, who leave me so gently tired,

cradling me to sleep;

You, who hide your sleeplessness from me,

tell me, can we endure

this transcending thirst

without giving in?

Remember how lovers 

are startled by a lie

at the hour of confession.

You alone can enter my pure solitude.

You become all things; you are a murmur

or an airy scent.

Between my arms, the void streams with loss.

It never held you back, and it's surely by that grace

that I hold you forever.

CHANSON

Toi, à qui je ne confie pas

mes longues nuits sans repos,

Toi qui me rends si tendrement las,

me berçant comme un berceau;

Toi qui me caches tes insomnies,

dis, si nous supportions

cette soif qui nous magnifie,

sans abandon?

Car rappelle-toi les amants,

comme le mensonge les surprend

à l’heure des confessions.

Toi seule, tu fais partie de ma solitude pure.

Tu te transformes en tout: tu es ce murmure

ou ce parfum aérien.

Entre mes bras: quel abîme qui s’abreuve de pertes.

Ils ne t’ont point retenue, et c’est grâce à cela, certes,

qu'à jamais je te tiens.

Translation  © Clarissa Aykroyd, 2014