Mirabeau Bridge
Under Mirabeau Bridge the
river slips away
And lovers
Must I be reminded
Joy came always after pain
.
.
The night is a clock chiming
The days go by not I
.
.
We're face to face and hand in hand
While under the bridges
Of embrace expire
Eternal tired tidal eyes
.
.
The night is a clock chiming
The days go by not I
.
.
Love elapses like the river
Love goes by
Poor life is indolent
And expectation always violent
.
.
The night is a clock chiming
The days go by not I
.
.
The days and equally the weeks elapse
The past remains the past
Love remains lost
Under Mirabeau Bridge the river slips away
.
.
The night is a clock chiming
The days go by not I
.
.
by Guillaume Apollinaire
from Alcools
Wesleyan University Press, 1995
translation Donald Revell, 1995