The Journey

Fable by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Period 18th century

Setting out before day, groping, seeing nothing at all,
without even thinking to ask the way,
going from fall to fall, and, dragging oneself along thus,
doing a third of the road until nearly noon;
then seeing the clouds gather overhead,
in shifting sand hurrying one’s steps,
running, weathering storm after storm,
toward an uncertain goal where one never arrives;
disillusioned toward evening seeking a refuge,
arriving breathless, lying down, falling asleep:
this is what is called being born, living, and dying.
The will of God be done.

Florian

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

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/fable-the-journey-jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/