To Mademoiselle Fanny de P., Poem by Victor Hugo

Poem by Victor Hugo Collection Les Rayons et les OmbresThemes Life, LovePeriod 19th century

TO MADEMOISELLE FANNY DE P.

O you whom your age defends,
Laugh! everything still caresses you.
Play! sing! be the child!
Be the flower; be the dawn!

As for destiny, do not think of it.
The sky is black, life is dark.
Alas! what does man do here below?
A little noise in much shadow.

Fate is harsh, we see it,
Child! often the eye full of charms
That casts the most rays
Also sheds the most tears.

You whom nothing comes to test,
You have everything, joy and delight,
Innocence that makes one dream,
Ignorance that makes one smile.

You have, lily saved from the winds,
Heart occupied with humble chimeras,
That calm happiness of children,
Pure reflection of the happiness of mothers.

Your candor makes you beautiful.
I prefer to every other flame
Your pupil that fills
The clarity that comes from your soul.

For you neither worries nor sorrows,
The family idolizes you.
In summer, you run through the flowers;
In winter, you play near the hearth.

Poetry, spirit of the heavens,
Near you, child, has alighted;
Your mother has it in her eyes,
Your father in his thought.

Take advantage of this time so sweet!
Live! — Joy is quickly absent;
And the darkest among us
Have had their dazzling dawn.

As one prays before departing,
Let me bless you, young soul, —
Angel who will be a martyr!
Child who will be a woman!

Victor Hugo

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