France

Poem by Charles-Nérée Beauchemin Collection ArrayPeriod 19th century

Yes, my country is still France:
The fire, the verve, the accent,
The soul, the spirit, the heart, the blood,
Everything gives us the assurance:
France remains always France.

Today, just as in times past,
Are we not, trait for trait,
The true profile, the vivid portrait
Of the Norman, father of our fathers?
Frenchmen, you are our big brothers.

It is still green and vigorous,
The branch of the old Frankish tree;
With warm sap exuberant,
Superb and strong as the race,
It is still green and vigorous.

Let come the magnificent dawn
Of winter festivals, Montreal,
Defying the harsh boreal wind,
For the dance encore dresses
Its multicolored domino.

Picturesque fairy palace,
On your walls of ice and fire,
The red, white and blue flag
Raises in the American sun
The warm gaiety of Armorica.

With the scarlet rocket,
That crackles and sifts with flashes
The crystal of your clear domes,
In the air it warms and expands
The joy of France bursts forth.

But in the distance if our ear
Hears the bugle of combat,
That is when our heart beats,
That is when the blood awakens,
At the sound that strikes our ear.

Sound, sing, resounding bugles!
Come, standards, forward!
In fire, lightning and wind,
Unfurl your tricolor folds!
Sound, sing, resounding bugles!

The invasion is immense.
– To chase away these great red reiters,
Why are we not with you,
Young soldiers of the defense!
Oh! our sorrow is immense.

France, O maternal homeland,
Our hearts, which are one for you,
Still palpitating with emotion,
Bleed from the blows that bruised you,
France, O maternal homeland!

Here as over there we weep.
Devouring the bloody affront,
Lowering our eyes, bowing our heads,
Silent, we await the hour.
Here as over there we weep.

When will the horrible trance end?
Oh! when from Versailles to Strasbourg,
Bell, cannon, bugle, drum
Will proclaim the deliverance
Of the great land of France?

Charles-Nérée Beauchemin

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-france-charles-neree-beauchemin/