To My Friend Alfred T

Poem by Alfred De Musset Collection Early PoemsThemes ArrayPeriod 19th century

In my days of misfortune, Alfred, alone among a thousand,
You remained faithful to me where so many have fled.
Happiness lent me more than one fragile bond;
But it is adversity that has made me a friend.

Thus it is that flowers on fertile hillsides
Display to the sun their common treasure;
But it is in the heart of nights, beneath sterile rocks,
That the miner digs who seeks a ray of gold.

Thus it is that calm seas without storms
Can rock the traveler with a wave of azure;
But it is the north wind, it is the wind of shipwrecks
That casts a pearl onto the shore for the fisherman.

Now may God keep me! Where am I going? Ah! what does it matter to me?
Whatever my fates may be, I say like Byron:
“The Ocean may roar, it will have to carry me.”
If my steed falls, I will put the spur to it.

But at least I will have been able, brother, whatever happens to me,
To seal our friendship with my seal of mourning,
And, whether I die tomorrow or live tomorrow,
While my heart beats, to give you half of it.

Alfred De Musset

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

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