Love
O Heavy, Heavy My Despair
Translated by Gertrude Hall (1895) · From Romances sans paroles (1874)
Oh, heavy, heavy my despair,
Because, because of One so fair.
My misery knows no allay,
Although my heart has come away.
Although my heart, although my soul,
Have fled the fatal One's control.
My misery knows no allay,
Although my heart has come away.
My heart, the too, too feeling one,
Says to my soul, "Can it be done,
"Can it be done, too feeling heart,
That we from her shall live apart?"
My soul says to my heart, "Know I
What this strange pitfall should imply,
"That we, though far from her, are near,
Yea, present, though in exile here?"
Cite this poem
MLA
Verlaine, Paul. “O Heavy, Heavy My Despair.” Translated by Gertrude Hall. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/verlaine/17/.
Chicago
Verlaine, Paul. “O Heavy, Heavy My Despair.” Translated by Gertrude Hall. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/verlaine/17/.
Read this poem with the Codex →