The Love of the Countryside

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

How these meadows’ enamel pleases my heart!
How these woods’ shade interests me!
When I left that enchanting water,
Winter reigned in all its fury.
And yet my eyes asked for that shore;
And yet, devoured by sorrows, by griefs,
In the midst of palaces, surrounded by cold men,
I regretted everywhere my friends of the village.
But spring gives me back my fields and my fair days.
You shall see me again, O verdant plains!
Seated nonchalantly beside your fountains,
A Tibullus in hand, feeding on love.
River of these valleys, there, following your bends,
I shall go alone and content to climb this peaceful mount
Often you will see me, restless and sensitive,
Stopped on your banks, gazing at your course.
There I wish to end my career;
Returned to the night of the tombs,
My shade, still tranquil and solitary,
In the forests will seek repose.
In the dwelling of grandeurs my name will die without glory,
But it will live long beneath the roofs of reeds,
But from age to age, guarding their flocks,
Tender-hearted shepherds will make my short story:
“Our friend,” they will say, “was born beneath this cradle;
He began his life in the shade of these oaks;
He spent it lying near this water,
And beneath the flowers his tomb is in these plains.”

Chateaubriand

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-the-love-of-the-countryside-francois-rene-de-chateaubriand/