Autumnal Dirge: Translation of Paul Verlaine's Chanson D'Automne

Autumnal Dirge (One of many possible translations* of « Chanson d’automne » by Paul Verlaine) for Sandra Feldman Drawn out sobs Violins of autumn Wound my heart Through a languor Monotonous Hardly breathing And turning wan, when The knell tolls, I recall Days gone by And I cry And I have to leave With the unwelcome wind Which bears me away Here now, there then Much as a (Wafting) Dead leaf. • This is as close to a literal translation as I can get, for I do think the original visual structure ought not to be disturbed and as long as the poet’s « meaning » (Intentional fallacy/Affective fallacy notwithstanding), if any, be not overly distorted. © T. Wignesan – Paris, 2013