The Imprint~Anna de Noailles

The Imprint

I will cling so stubbornly to life,
I will clutch it so fiercely
That before the sweetness of this day fades
I will warm it forever with my touch.

The endless sea which touches all countries
Will carry on its fickle waves
The taste of my pain, bitter and salty,
And tossing like a boat.

I will leave in the hills a bit of myself--
The heat of my eyes which saw them bloom;
And cicadas, nesting on thorny branches,
Will sing out the shrill cry of my desire.

In fresh spring fields infant buds
And soft grass escaping from the earth
Will feel, like wings that flutter and pulse,
The shadow of my hands which stroked them once.

Nature, my joy in life and my domain,
Will breathe my lasting essence into the air,
And upon the gloom of human suffering
I will imprint the shape of my distinctive heart.

Anna de Noailles (1876-1933)
translated by Walter Wykes