On the Land of Chimeras

Poem by Gérard De Nerval Period 19th century

On the land of chimeras
Our flight has stopped:
Lead us safely
Through these heaths,
These rocks, this devastated field.

See these trees that crowd together
Swiftly bruising one another;
See these rocks that sink
Trembling in their foundation.
Everywhere the wind blows and cries!

In these rocks, with fury,
River and stream mingle;
I hear there the sound of water,
So dear to reverie!
The sighs, the floating wishes,
What we mourn, what we adore…
And the echo still resounds
Like the voice of olden times,

Or hoo! shoo hoo! they resound;
Herons and owls moan,
Mingling their sad song;
From each bush one sees
Strange roots surge up;
Gaunt arms, long spines;
Rolling and crawling bellies;
Among the rocks, the ruins,
Swarm worms and serpents.

On knots that intertwine
Each step comes to catch!
There mice go and pass
In the moss of the rock.
There fugitive flies
Precede us by thousands,
And with brighter sparks
Illuminate the paths.

But must we in this place
Advance or remain?
Around us everything threatens,
Everything stirs, shines and grimaces,
To strike, to mislead;
Trees and rocks are treacherous;
These fires, trembling and swift,
Shine without lighting our way!…

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-on-the-land-of-chimeras-gerard-de-nerval/