Evening in a Valley, Poem by Chateaubriand

Poem by François-René De Chateaubriand Collection Nature PaintingsThemes NaturePeriod 18th century

Already evening with its bluish vapor
Was wrapping the silent fields;
The skies were veiled by the cloud:
I was advancing toward the grayish stone.
From the top of a mount a roaring wave
Leapt forth: beneath broad sycamores,
In this desert of menacing calm,
Rolled agitated and resounding waters.
The black torrent, redoubling its vigor,
Entered impetuously into the dark forest
Of these pines, with bearing full of languor,
Which, neglected as if in sorrow,
Let fall their long hair,
From branch to branch wandering at random.
Gazing at themselves in a frightful silence,
Bare rocks rose up, dark;
Their arid brow and their savage peaks
Saw the clouds glide and smoke:
Their long summits, split into prisms,
Were gnawed by waters and mosses.
Bindweeds, damp capillaires,
Covered the flanks of these solitary mounts;
More sadly still ivies
Hung from the inaccessible rocks;
And contrasted, tinted with peaceful colors,
The rush, covered with its golden butterflies,
Laughed in the wind on terrible sites.
But all fades, and surprised by night,
Lying among woolly heathers,
Over the current of stormy waves
I shall lean my brow laden with ennui.

Chateaubriand

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