Written by Victor Hugo and published in Les Chants des Crepuscules in 1835
Translated by George W.M. Reynolds and published in Songs of Twilight in 1836.
{V, vi., August, 1832.}[1]
Say, Lord! for Thou alone canst tell
Where lurks the good invisible
Amid the depths of discord’s sea—
That seem, alas! so dark to me!
Oppressive to a mighty state,
Contentions, feuds, the people’s hate—
But who dare question that which fate
Has ordered to have been?
Haply the earthquake may unfold
The resting-place of purest gold,
And haply surges up have rolled
The pearls that were unseen!
[1] Original citation: Reynolds, Songs of Twilight and Hapgood, Smith, and Dole, p. 120.
Categories: 19th Century, Chants des Crepuscules, France, g w m reynolds, literature, Paris, poem, Poetry, Poets, Songs of Twilight, Victor Hugo