Roses and Lilies of the Valley, Poem by Charles Cros

Rondeau

To Count Charles de Montblanc

In the valley watered
By the running stream, I went
One day to gather the rose,
The rose and the lilies of the valley.

My bashful lover
Who dares tell me nothing, passed by there;
I was gathering the rose,
The rose and the lily of the valley.

“Oh naughty! oh sullen!”
I laughed in his face,
All the while gathering the rose,
The rose and the lilies of the valley.

On the grass I settle
Throwing my bouquet,
My beautiful bouquet of rose,
Of rose and of lily of the valley.

“Say something to me then!
The birds are merrier
Chirping to the rose,
Pecking at the lilies of the valley.

Don’t fear gossip.
The lizard keeps watch
Lying on a rose,
Hidden in the lily of the valley.”

But on my closed mouth
His kiss mocked me.
“Your lips are of rose
And your teeth of lily of the valley.”

The wicked one! He is the cause
(I who mocked so much!)
That in the water runs my rose,
My rose and my lilies of the valley.

Charles Cros

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-roses-and-lilies-of-the-valley-charles-cros/