.

The Two Corteges

by Joséphin Soulary (1815-1891) | translated from French by Hadyn Adams

Within a church two groups of people met:
An infant’s funeral cortege, the first:
A woman followed, her heart fit to burst
Within her breast repressing her regret.

The second for a baptism all set;
The mother her young baby gently nursed
Within her cradling arms as she rehearsed
A smile of pleasure she would never forget.

Then these two women brief glances exchanged
As the church emptied, the services complete.
It seemed therein a miracle arranged
As their paths crossed whilst making their retreat:
For, seeing the coffin, the young mother grieved,
While the baby the other’s tears relieved.

.

Original French

LES DEUX CORTÈGES

Deux cortèges se sont rencontrés à l’église.
L’un est morne : — il conduit le cercueil d’un enfant ;
Une femme le suit, presque folle, étouffant
Dans sa poitrine en feu le sanglot qui la brise.

L’autre, c’est un baptême ! — au bras qui le défend
Un nourrisson gazouille une note indécise ;
Sa mère, lui tendant le doux sein qu’il épuise,
L’embrasse tout entier d’un regard triomphant !

On baptise, on absout, et le temple se vide.
Les deux femmes, alors, se croisant sous l’abside,
Échangent un coup d’œil aussitôt détourné ;
Et — merveilleux retour qu’inspire la prière —
La jeune mère pleure en regardant la bière,
La femme qui pleurait sourit au nouveau-né !

.

.

Hadyn Adams is a graduate of Durham and Cambridge Universities and retired after 40 years in education, the last twenty spent in China.  Currently he lives in the United Kingdom. His publications include the novels The Spinner of The Years, Ecstatic from One Lie, and Catching Mice, all available from Amazon, and poems in university magazines and some anthologies—mostly now out of print.

NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


Trending now:

4 Responses

  2. Paul Freeman

    Great stuff, Joséphin.

    A poignant piece of writing / translation.

    Thanks for the read.

    Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    I see you’ve translated the sonnet rhyme scheme, as well as the words, from French to English! It does seem as though the end of the story is well suited to a concluding couplet. You ably convey the feelings arising from the religious atmosphere, especially in calling the surprise outcome a miracle (justified by Soulary’s “merveilleux”). I think the conclusion would be better as calm iambic pentameter, avoiding a line that has, in normal reading, only four stresses. Instead of
    While the BAby the OTHer’s TEARS reLIEVED, maybe
    While the NEWborn CHILD the OTHer’s TEARS reLIEVED.
    It is difficult to decide how to express such high emotions.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.