Ode To Yseult

Woman, woman that I loved uncommonly Many springs ago When the weather was good and callow When the wind whistled swiftly, low and slow Oh! Woman, you were young, strong and sparkling Darling, now you're deceased Lying down and sleeping comatose on your back Calm and motionless like the water Of the paralyzed pond, staring at the sky Eyes hermetically and conveniently closed Where everything seems supernatural and artificial I wonder and ponder where I'm diving If it's an illusion, a nightmare or a dream I don't feel good: I'm unbalanced and demented I'm disappearing into the shadows Where everything is dark and gloomy Like my blood. I feel that my everything Is gone and swept away by sadness I'm drowning in a mercurial lake of inebriety My God! Yes, I'm in pain indeed I've lost the most beautiful mermaid. Woman, woman, you were genial and lovely The voluptuous gal that I loved so much Do you remember? I frittered a lot of time Revering you. I found myself on the slippery slope I, too, will die like you Woman, woman, heavy and ghastly is the cross Where I am exposed today The cold freezes me and the sun bakes me I'm sad and devastated like wilted flowers And you, apoplectic, silent and enshrined I am suffering, weeping and dying too I don't want to stay here anymore My heart is weary, sorrowful and besieged I am crying and suffering. My strength has left me I am drowning in pain in the lake of boozing I'm perishing too. I don't want to live anymore. Woman, woman that I loved so much We are no longer in springtime But almost at the infancy of autumn The bells are ringing and the children are banging There is no rainbow in the sky I am alone, in tears and very sorry In the labyrinth of the necropolis May the earth be light to you! P.S. Translation of ‘Ode À Yseult' by Hébert Logerie Sr. Copyright © September 2021, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved. Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.