My France

Poem by Charles-Nérée Beauchemin Collection Patrie intimePeriod 19th century

French I am, I boast of it,
And very loud, very clear, very strong,
I say it again and I sing it.
Yes, I am French first of all.
But have neither suspicion nor doubt,
For the loyal man I am,
France, where my soul is wholly,
My France, is my country.

My France, the intimate France,
Is my home, my cradle,
It is the place of my birth,
In all that is most beautiful in it;
It is the land where takes root
The national maple,
It is the sky where is outlined
The cross of the native bell tower.

The gentle image of the other
Still trembles in our eyes.
Which one do I love? Our own?
I love them both!
Indivisible fatherlands,
These two Frances, forever,
Beloved with all our heart,
Are but one in our loves.

Let a coward lie to his race;
I, I am French first of all.
I say it and I sing it
Very loud, very clear, and very strong.
But have neither suspicion nor doubt,
For the loyal man I am,
The France where my soul is wholly,
My France, is my country.

Charles-Nérée Beauchemin

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-my-france-charles-neree-beauchemin/