Madame la Marquise, Poem by Alfred De Musset

You know that I have as my sweetheart
An Andalusian with a mischievous eye,
And on my heart, all asleep,
I rock her until morning.

See her, when her arm entwines me,
Like the neck of a white swan,
Intoxicate herself, forgetful and weary,
With some nonchalant dream.

Gay cherubs! watch over her.
Hover, birds, over our nest;
Gild with the reflection of your wing
Her sweet sleep, which God blesses!

For everything invites us
To forget all, except our love:
Our pleasures, to forget life;
Our curtains, to forget the day.

Place your breath on my mouth,
May your soul pass through it!
Oh! let us stay thus in my bed,
Until the hour of passing away!

Let us stay! The vagabond star
Of which the wise are afraid from afar
Perhaps, carrying away the world,
Will leave us in our corner.

Oh! come! into my bruised soul
That still bleeds from a very great ill,
Come pour your white thought,
Like a stream into a torrent!

For do you know, just to live,
How much I have had to weep?
Of that weariness that sobers
How much in my heart to devour?

Give me, my beautiful mistress,
A beautiful kiss, for I want
To tell you my long distress,
While caressing your beautiful hair.

Now see who I am, my sweet,
For I forgive you nonetheless
For having fallen asleep yesterday
On my lips, while listening to me.

Therefore, Madame la Marquise,
As soon as it grows dark in town,
By order of the king you will be required
To come to our manor;

And on my heart, all asleep,
I will rock her until morning,
For it is known that I have as my sweetheart
An Andalusian with a mischievous eye.

Alfred De Musset

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-madame-la-marquise-alfred-de-musset/