Flemish Round, Poem by Charles Cros

To Mademoiselle Mauté de Fleurville.

If I were king of the forest,
I would put on a crown
All of gold; in cornflower-blue velvet
I would have a throne,

In blue velvet, trimmed with silver
Like a prayer book,
I would have a glass of diamond
Filled with beer,

Filled with beer or white wine.
I would sleep on roses.
To think that a king can have so many
Beautiful things.

To think that a king takes when he wants
The most beautiful girl in the world
Whose eyes are the most beautiful blue.
And the blondest,

With braids like those
Down to her knees, Marguerite.
If I were king, it’s she
That I would have quickly.

I would go take her from her garden,
On the water, in my black boat.
Mother-of-pearl mast and satin sail.
Oars of ivory.

White satin, mother-of-pearl and golden cables…
Flutes, mandolins
To lull the beauty who sleeps
On ermine!

Ermine, rigging of gold and silver.
Sweet concert, ebony boat,
Crown and glass of diamond…
I am grieved by it.

I have only my boy’s heart.
Marguerite is content
To be my queen in the song
That I sing to her.

Charles Cros

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-flemish-round-charles-cros/