Below is my poetic translation of ‘Litanies Pour Un Retour’ by Jacques Brel. Particular attention has been paid to keeping the rhyme and flow of the piece while retaining the poetic origins of the French lyric.
My heart, my love, my soul,
My sky, my fire, my gold,
My snow, my rain, my hail, my honey, my spring,
My grail.
My wheat, my land, my home,
My flame, my earth, my stone,
My night, my thirst, my bread, my dawn, my twilight,
My bed.
My sail, my wave, my guide and my self,
My blood, my strength, my fever, my health,
My song, my laugh, my wine, my joy,
My dawn, my life, my faith and my cry.
My heart, my love, my soul,
My sky, my fire, my gold,
My body, my flesh, my plea,
Here they are now you’ve come back to me.
Collecting Brel 