Death & Dying
A Lament
Translated by Edwin Arnold, C.S.I. (1888) · From Les Châtiments (1853)
O paths whereon wild grasses wave!
O valleys! hillsides! forests hoar!
Why are ye silent as the grave?
For One, who came, and comes no more!
Why is thy window closed of late?
And why thy garden in its sear?
O house! where doth thy master wait?
I only know he is not here.
Good dog! thou watchest; yet no hand
Will feed thee. In the house is none.
Whom weepest thou? child! My father. And
O wife! whom weepest thou? The Gone.
Where is he gone? Into the dark.--
O sad, and ever-plaining surge!
Whence art thou? From the convict-bark.
And why thy mournful voice? A dirge.
Codex Note
French: "Sentiers où l'herbe se balance." [Bk. III. xi., July, 1853.]
Cite this poem
MLA
Hugo, Victor. “A Lament.” Translated by Edwin Arnold, C.S.I.. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/hugo/54/.
Chicago
Hugo, Victor. “A Lament.” Translated by Edwin Arnold, C.S.I.. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/hugo/54/.
Read this poem with the Codex →