Les danses solennelles insipides à plaire
(English translation below)
12 février 2016
Mémoire de pâleur visiter Honfleur
Définir sous vide de loi de cœur pris
Dormir sous l’égide d’un esprit farceur
Inaltérable fleur démise en survie
Un soupçon de leurre attiser clameur
Etouffer le guide de mes folles envies
Enlacer les rides surprendre douleur
Faire de spleen tuteur éteindre chaleur
Il n’est point de sœur à l’âme qui s’élève
De sueurs mortelles naît abécédaire
Frapper pour des heures sur i qui se lève
Rengaines éternelles oublis suicidaires
Raconter le cœur et vivre comme je crève
Les danses solennelles insipides à plaire
Lecture du poème:
Rough translation into a sonnet in English
The solemn dances insipid to please
February 12, 2016
Memory’s pallor visiting Honfleur
Defining under vacuum of law of heart taken
Sleeping under the aegis of a prankster spirit
Unalterable flower dislocated survival
A hint of misguiding to stir outcry
Smothering guide of my wildest desires
Hugging wrinkles and surprising pain
Making spleen a tutor and dowsing warmth
There is no sister to the soul that rises
From deadly sweats definitions are born
Hitting for hours on the i that rises
Eternal tunes suicidal forgetfulness
Speaking the heart and living the way I die
The solemn dances insipid to please
Reading of the poem:
Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre
Geetha Balvannanathan's Blog - Isis Tratum 
Just beautiful Geetha, and I love how you’ve been posting the layout. You add so much depth to your art. Brilliant. I am a fan.
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This is so weird, your comment went to spam just before my eyes. This is the second time it is happening to me that I watch a comment being spammed.
I had actually started answering you when it happened. Thank you so much for your kind words. I really am glad you like the work.
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that happens to me as well. I really enjoy your poetry Geetha. Love is a better word. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
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Thank you so much. I hope you have a wonderful weekend too 🙂
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Another haunting image…the dance with death.
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Yes, sometimes existence is just a dance with death, whether slow or a whirlwind type of a dance. The most important thing is to enjoy the dance, however brief and not worry about when it will stop 🙂
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Yes, for sure!
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Wonderful again. But should I expect anything less? You killed it with those last two lines “Speaking the heart and living the way I die, The solemn dances insipid to please.”
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Thank you Andrew 🙂
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A beautifully written piece, Geetha. I love the image conjured by dislocated survival and of course the apparent dance with death.
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Thank you Thomas. As usual, there are many more meanings hidden in the French poem but I just translated roughly as it is difficult to not become verbose when explaining the French intent and translating it into the English cultural context 🙂
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You are welcome, Geetha. I know there are always things lost in translation, still, it is a great piece 🙂
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Thank you so much. My thoughts are flowing and I am trying to get a grip. Every second away from writing is a lost poem now. It’s quite terrible.
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You are welcome. I know how it feels! It’s too bad we could not save every thought!
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Beautiful images, beautiful words, beautiful French.
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Thank you so much. I am glad there are some French speakers who also follow the blog. I’ve noticed that mainly English speakers are following or at least it seems most people are from the US or the UK.
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As always, so well put together
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Thank you Derrick 🙂
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Geeta I am always blown away by your talent!
Sorry I don’t get to cop meant much. A lot of the time I check my reader at lunch at school. And can like, but not spend time commenting.
But Wow!
And in bilingual form too!
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Thank you so much Ritu. I totally understand. I am having the same problem and actually cannot read many people anymore as I am reading mainly from reader and many of those I follow post as a link to their website which I am unable to follow because of some technical problems with my phone and lack of time as well when on laptop finally.
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It’s frustrating!
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Yes it is, especially that some of those who post as a link are those I used to like following like yourself 😀
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I can’t get it to show whole posts! Where is the place I can adjust?
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I posted once about that. It is called Dear Word Press family and friends… I had posted that because my time was getting rarer and I knew I would not have enough time to read everything so was hoping people would choose to post in standard form instead of as a link – at least for those who followed me and whom I followed back usually. You can find that name from my blogroll I think
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I’ll check 😊
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Great. That way I can read you even when it is not weekend and I am not on my laptop 🙂
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Ok, So I checked and my posts are always on standard…. there must be some other setting…
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Strange. I always get the link for your posts. I am not sure what other setting there could be which gives that result.
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I’ll check other settings too Geetha, don’t worry!
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