With long sobs
the violin-throbs
of autumn wound
my heart with languorous
and montonous
sound.

Choking and pale
When I mind the tale
the hours keep,
my memory strays
down other days
and I weep;

and I let me go
where ill winds blow
now here, now there,
harried and sped,
even as a dead
leaf, anywhere.

*************************************************

CHANSON D'AUTOMNE

Les sanglots longs
Des violons
De l'automne
Blessent mon cœur
D'une langueur
Monotone.

Tout suffocant
Et blême, quand
Sonne l'heure.
Je me souviens
Des jours anciens,
Et je pleure.

Et je m'en vais
Au vent mauvais
Qui m'emporte
De çà, de là,
Pareil à la
Feuille morte.

The years have passed
The moments flown by
Yet I still find myself here
starting to cry

The grass neatly trimmed
and the tombstone shines
Flowers' scents intoxicating
mixed with that of the pines

Dirt and mud disappeared
from your resting place
Finally I may kiss the ground
without having a mess of my face

There are other survivors
traveling this lonely road
Trying to move on
is as painful as letting go

My heart goes out to those
missing someone right now
Sometimes it's too hard living
When we forget how

But we share this common bond
Me and you
We keep catching and releasing
Not taking the same chances we used to

Different are the circumstances
but the results remain the same
Death showed a higher hand
and won the biggest pot in the game

But we must share with each other
We must not sink below the sorrow or the guilt
We must not reach ground zero
Else our lives won't be rebuilt