With us the tree also chooses the bird
the water looks like the fish
I spill over with comparisons.
Chez nous l'arbre choisit aussi l'oiseau
l'eau ressemble au poisson
je déborde tous les comme.
—from Dans nos recommencements (In Our New Beginnings), Gallimard, 1976
I did not hear all of it
the story continues and puts me
to sleep day watches over night
it's a strange language it
secretly owns me I begin
to write it we even speak
in this language
different every day
we are the words
in this language we learn again
to laugh
je n’ai pas tout entendu
l’histoire continue elle m’en
dort le jour veille la nuit
c’est une langue étrange elle me
prend en secret je commence
à l’écrire on se parle même
dans cette langue chaque jour
nouvelle
dont nous sommes les mots
dans cette langue nous rapprenons
à rire
—from Je n’ai pas tout entendu (I Did Not Hear the Whole Story), Dumerchez, 2000
they follow death like a street
the old men the old women
without meeting each other
they trail behind their years
faces covered by a fabric
of wrinkles
close to each other
they have only one eye and only one lip
to love
indifference is their bond
in the habit of dying
on prend la mort comme une rue
les vieux les vieilles
sans se voir
marchent derrière leurs années
visages sous le linge
des rides
l’un près de l’autre
ils n’ont qu’un œil et qu’une lèvre
pour aimer
l’indifférence est leur lien
dans la routine de mourir
—from Parole rencontre (Word Meeting), Atelier du grand tétras, 2008
with every person
I begin again
a passing arm
amplifies me
I fall asleep in the sun
the view is lush
with all these lives
that pass though me
the near the far cancel each other out
in my passion
every encounter
becomes a part of me
worlds pass each other
into the arms of my gaze
the eyes are also caresses
the eyes never grow weary
of touching of holding
chaque autre
je me recommence
un bras qui passe
me multiplie
je m’endors soleil
la vue est enceinte
de toutes ces vies
qui me traversent
le près le loin s’annulent
dans ma chaleur
chaque rencontre
devient une part de moi
des mondes passent
dans les bras de mes regards
les yeux aussi sont des caresses
les yeux ne se lassent pas
de toucher de tenir
—from De monde en monde (From World to World), Arfuyen, 2009
you are there
eyes closed with happiness
to see the life
that overtakes us
tomorrow above tomorrow below
without knowing where we go
holding hands
laughing together
we silence all we know
the words slip
between us
and we walk
each step
we begin again
to live
tu es là
les yeux fermés du bonheur
pour voir la vie
qui nous passe
demain dessus demain dessous
sans savoir où nous allons
les mains ensemble
les rires ensemble
on se tait tout ce qu’on sait
les mots se serrent
entre nous
et nous marchons
chaque pas
on recommence
à vivre
—from Demain Dessus Demain Dessous (Tomorrow Above Tomorrow Below), Arfuyen, 2010
if I say I know
the past the present
but not the future
I don't know what I'm saying
because I don't know
what my past is preparing for
my future
and I don't know
what my present
rediscovers about my past
I only know what makes me
what makes me knows me
si je dis que je connais
le passé le présent
mais pas l’avenir
je ne sais pas ce que je dis
parce que je ne connais pas
ce que mon passé me prépare
d’avenir
et je ne connais pas
ce que mon présent
redécouvre de mon passé
je ne connais que ce qui me fait
ce qui me fait me connaît
—from Demain Dessus Demain Dessous (Tomorrow Above Tomorrow Below), Arfuyen, 2010
Translators’ statement
As a poet and as a translator of the Hebrew verse of the Bible, Henri Meschonnic contends that rhythm rules over meaning, flowing from the bottom up. For him, the revolution in the idea of language is the basis of a continuing change, not only in the poem but also in the idea of history and social life itself. The continuous movement of these poems, published over the last four decades, suggests the possibility of passing energy from subject to subject, of inventing within language new ways of being with oneself, others, and the world. As with the poems of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe and Jacques Réda, the rhythm of Meschonnic’s poems exposes the subject. He follows Montaigne’s practice--'I do not describe being. I describe the passage… from minute to minute.” Untitled and unpunctuated, the poems are kin to W. S. Merwin 'climbing out of myself/ all my life.' Meschonnic writes, “I am not in what/ I seek but in what escapes me.” Our translations attempt to honor the poem’s movement.
Author and Translators' biography
A core figure of the French literary scene of the last half-century Henri Meschonnic (1932-2009) is known worldwide for his translations from the Old Testament and Critique du rhythme. During his long career, Meschonnic generated controversy in the literary community. To date Ethics and Politics of Translating is his only book translated into English. His poetry has received prestigious awards, including the Max Jacob International Poetry Prize, the Mallarmé Prize, the Jean Arp Francophone Literature Prize, and the Guillevic-Ville de Saint-Malo Grand Prize for Poetry. His poems appear in more than a dozen languages. However, even now, almost no Meschonnic poems have been translated into English. Selected from his nineteen collections, the accompanying works only suggest the richness, range, and intensity of his poetic output.
Don Boes is the author of Good Luck With That, Railroad Crossing, and The Eighth Continent, selected by A. R. Ammons for the Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize. His poems have appeared in Louisville Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Prairie Schooner, Cutbank, Zone 3, Southern Indiana Review, and Cincinnati Review.
Gabriella Bedetti’s translations of Meschonnic’s essays have appeared in New Literary History and Critical Inquiry, an interview in Diacritics, an article in New Literary History. Meschonnic was a guest of the MLA at her roundtable with Ralph Cohen and Susan Stewart. She studied translation at the University of Iowa and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference.
Our translations of Meschonnic have appeared or are forthcoming in Asymptote and In Translation. We would be delighted to have more readers discover his stripped-down voice.
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