THREE POEMS BY MICHEL DEVERGE (shared with dVerse)
I’ve been tinkering with some translations I did a while ago of a number of poems by the contemporary French poet Michel Deverge.
The translation of poetry into English is a finicky craft at the best of times: the sheer abundance of the language with its plethora, its proliferation, its panoply of synonyms (see what I mean?) is in constant danger of suffocating the original lexicon.
Michel Deverge’s specialism is Chinese Studies and the delicacy and minimalism of much Oriental verse is a feature of his writing. The alterations that I’ve made to these renditions are slight, but they represent the need to be attentive to the need for differentiation in translation. For all this careful discrimination, these poems will always read so very much more effectively in the original French.
THE PUNT
the fish watches the maggot
and the line and the rod and
up there at the end of the rod
in the stern of the punt
beneath the spreading shadow of his hat
the angler asleep in the sun.
the lapping of ripples against the flat boards
set against the rustling of the reeds
the punt solitary on the great lake
the fish its gaoler
and the silence its cell.
::
le poisson regarde l'asticot
et la ligne et la canne et
là-bas au bout de la canne
à l'arrière de la platte
sous le grand chapeau d'ombre
le pécheur endormi au soleil.
clapotis de vaguelettes sur les plats bords
froissement des joncs à peine balancés
la barque est seule sur le grand lac
avec le poisson pour gardien
et le silence pour cage
:::
THE MASTER WAS POLISHING A BRICK
The master was polishing a brick
the pupil asked
why are you doing that
the master replied
to make a mirror
the pupil said
you can’t make a mirror from a brick
the master replied
you can’t become a buddha by sitting in the lotus
::
Le maître frottait une brique
le disciple dit
pourquoi faire
le maître dit
pour faire un miroir
le disciple dit
on ne fait pas de miroir avec une brique
le maître dit
on ne devient pas bouddha en s'asseyant en lotus.
:::
THE ASPARAGUS
The asparagus tip
cast a morning glance
across the beach
close by
the basket
the kitchen knife
::
La tête d'asperge
jette un oeil matinal
au ras du sable
à quelques pas
le panier
le coutelas
:::
