Assez vu. La vision s’est rencontrée à tous les airs.
Assez eu. Rumeurs des villes, le soir, et au soleil, et toujours.
Assez connu. Les arrêts de la vie. O Rumeurs et Visions!
Départ dans l’affection et le bruit neufs!
Arthur Rimbaud (Illuminations)
Departure
Enough seen. The vision has been encountered in every air.
Quite enough. Whispers of towns, the evening, and in the sun, and ever.
Enough known. Life’s instants. O Whispers and Visions!
Departure in fresh affection and fresh noise!
Arthur Rimbaud (Illuminations) (trans. AH/KH 24/12/17)
My french isn’t great but is better at reading than speaking. Sometimes I look at translation and think have a go, rarely, this is the first I did of not much more. Usually prompted by reading translation that feels wrong, here I wondered about how someone else had translated ‘air’ and having looked into that it spurred me on – sometimes I have wondered if translators sometimes leave such things to encourage us, but that may be me over thinking.
Rimbaud, such an interesting writer and person – so interesting please tell me if i need think twice on this.
