L’horlogeCLOCK
Clock! You sinister god, terrifying, blank-faced, And whose finger upbraids us, saying: “Never forget! The tremulous ills with which your frightened heart’s beset Soon will settle themselves like a target that’s placed; Evanescent Pleasure will flee to a distance, Just like a sylph does slipping out of sight; Every moment consumes a pinch of the delight Assigned to every man for his life’s subsistence. And the Second, three thousand six hundred times each hour, Whispers: Never forget! — With its insistent bore Like an insect’s, Now now says: I am the Before And I’ve pumped your life with my mendacious power! Souviens-toi! Forget not! Prodigal! Vergisst nicht! (All the known languages speaks my gullet of brass.) Human wastrel, the minutes are coin mints en masse From which no-one must leave but their pockets well-picked! Don’t forget too that Time is a ravenous player And he wins without cheating, straight up, that’s the rule! Daylight dwindles, night grows; think now, don’t be a fool! The void’s thirst’s never-ending; the water-clock runs dryer. Soon the hour will sound when it’s Chance the sublime, When it’s noble Virtue, your still-virginal bride, When Repentance itself (oh, the last place to hide!), When all say to you: Die, you old coward! It’s time!” Другие переводы L’horloge. |
© RuMoHoR 2001—2014