The Farewell

Poem by François-René De Chateaubriand Collection Miscellaneous PoemsThemes Death, NaturePeriod 19th century

Time calls me: these verses must end.
At this thought my courage fails.
I salute you, oh valleys I am losing!
Listen to me: this is my last homage.
Far, far from here, astray on the earth,
I shall drag out an importunate life;
But wherever I dwell unknown,
Fear not that a friend will forget you.
Yes, I shall love this enchanting shore,
These deserted mounts that filled my heart
With both silence and melancholy;
Above all these woods dear to my reverie,
Where I saw, from bush to bush,
Fly without sound a solitary couple,
Whose last song I heard, beneath the hereditary elm,
Alone, moved to tenderness.
Simple birds, will you remember mine?
Among these woods, ah! may it be remembered by you.
In leaving you I sing your charms,
Adored shore! Of your faithful master
If talents equaled regrets,
These last verses would have no model.
But to the brushes enamored of nature,
Glory escapes and is not its prize.
My muse is simple, and blushing and naked;
I must die like the humble flower
That passes in the shade, and only known
To those streams that made its happiness.

Chateaubriand

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