Poetry

Fragment In English All was asleep in the night and in the deep shadowHardly did the wind make the wave shiverOr rustle the reed;And in the immense peace, the yews of the graveyardSoftly murmured: it is good beneath the earth,O dead ones, in the tombs. Beneath the tall, green grass where blonde harvests lieGerminating like … Read more

A poem written by Louise Michel as she passed frigid seas on The Virginie, the ship taking her to exile in New Caledonia.

Under the Niaoulis In English Under the niaoulis, the trees of the tribes,We listen to the waves with their confused murmurs. The dawn must rise;Every night conceals a morning.For one to whom the day before is but a dream,The wild grass will become grain.The waves roll, time flows on,The desert will become a city.Upon the … Read more

The Swallows In English Swallow coming from the stormy cloud,Faithful swallow, where are you going? Tell me.What breeze carries you off, wandering traveler?Listen, I would like to go away with you,Far, far from here, toward immense shores,Toward great bare rocks, strands, deserts,Into the silent unknown, or else toward other ages,Toward the wandering stars that roll … Read more

To My Brothers In English On the broken dial, swift go the days.Pass along stillTake everything away—the hatreds, the loves Pass, pass, hours and days!May the grass grow over the dead!Fall, things barely born;Ships, move away from the ports;Pass, pass, O deep nights.Crumble into dust, O old mountains;Outcasts or dead, we shall returnFrom the dungeons, … Read more

To Those Who Want to Stay Slaves Since the people want the imperial eagleTo soar over their abjection,Since they sleep, crushed beneath the cold blastOf eternal oppression; Since they always want—all those being slaughtered—To offer their chests to the knife,Let us force, O my friends, the horrible death-trap,We shall liberate the flock! A single man … Read more

The poem ‘A Bord de la Virginie (septembre 1873)’ by Louise Michel in English and French.

Paris Poem by Louise Michel – in French and English Paris English translation Let the kings fall, let the winds blow,And the torments,Fall, fall beneath the black hurricanes.You who go traveling across the world,Traveler, pass on your way,Paris is the deep grave,Paris is the human charnel house.Everything is dead in the great city,And yet it … Read more

Versailles-Capital and Eternity Versailles-Capital English Translation Yes, Versailles is the capital:A corrupt and fatal city,It is she who holds the torch.Satory stands watch for her,And the bandits find her beautifulWith a shroud for a cloak.Versailles, old courtesan,Beneath her dress faded by time,Holds the Republic in the cradleCovered in leprosy and crime;She taints this sublime nameBy … Read more