El Desdichado

Poem by Gérard De Nerval Period 19th century

I am the Dark One, – the Widower, – the Unconsoled,
The Prince of Aquitaine at the abolished Tower:
My only Star is dead, – and my constellated lute
Bears the black Sun of Melancholy.

In the night of the Tomb, You who consoled me,
Give me back Posillipo and the sea of Italy,
The flower that so pleased my desolate heart,
And the trellis where the Vine and the Rose unite.

Am I Love or Phoebus?… Lusignan or Biron?
My brow is still red from the Queen’s kiss;
I have dreamed in the Grotto where the Siren swims…

And twice victorious I have crossed the Acheron:
Modulating in turn on the lyre of Orpheus
The sighs of the Saint and the cries of the Fairy.

Gérard de Nerval

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/poem-el-desdichado-gerard-de-nerval/