Le Revenant (The Ghost)

Comme les anges à l'oeil fauve, Je reviendrai dans ton alcôve Et vers toi glisserai sans bruit Avec les ombres de la nuit; Et je te donnerai, ma brune, Des baisers froids comme la lune Et des caresses de serpent Autour d'une fosse rampant. Quand viendra le matin livide, Tu trouveras ma place vide, Où jusqu'au soir il fera froid. Comme d'autres par la tendresse, Sur ta vie et sur ta jeunesse, Moi, je veux régner par l'effroi. The Ghost Like angels with wild beast's eyes I shall return to your bedroom And silently glide toward you With the shadows of the night; And, dark beauty, I shall give you Kisses cold as the moon And the caresses of a snake That crawls around a grave. When the livid morning comes, You'll find my place empty, And it will be cold there till night. I wish to hold sway over Your life and youth by fear, As others do by tenderness. — Translated by William Aggeler The Ghost Like angels fierce and tawny-eyed, Back to your chamber I will glide, And noiselessly into your sight Steal with the shadows of the night. And I will bring you, brown delight, Kisses as cold as lunar night And the caresses of a snake Revolving in a grave. At break Of morning in its livid hue, You'd find I had bequeathed to you An empty place as cold as stone. Others by tenderness and ruth Would reign over your life and youth, But I would rule by fear alone. — Translated by Roy Campbell The Revenant Like angels with bright savage eyes I will come treading phantom-wise Hither where thou art wont to sleep, Amid the shadows hollow and deep. And I will give thee, my dark one, Kisses as icy as the moon, Caresses as of snakes that crawl In circles round a cistern's wall. When morning shows its livid face There will be no-one in my place, And a strange cold will settle here Others, not knowing what thou art, May think to reign upon thy heart With tenderness; I trust to fear. — Translated by George Dillon The Ghost Like angels that have monster eyes, Over your bedside I shall rise, Gliding towards you silently Across night's black immensity. O darksome beauty, you shall swoon At kisses colder than the moon And fondlings like a snake's who coils Sinuous round the grave he soils. When livid morning breaks apace, You shall find but an empty place, Cold until night, and bleak, and drear: As others do by tenderness, So would I rule your youthfulness By harsh immensities of fear. — Translated by Jacques LeClercq