NOCTURNE III
One night
One night heavy with the scent of perfumes, with murmurings and music of wings,
One night
As phantasmal fireflies flickered in humid, nuptial shadows,
We walked together, slowly, our bodies close, and you,
Silent, pale,
As if a presentiment of infinite pain and sorrow
Had shaken you to the most secret depths of your being,
Came strolling along the garden path through fragrant gardens,
And in the indigo
Of the vast, farthest, heavens, the full moon shed its unearthly light,
And your shadow,
Languid, mellow,
And my shadow,
Lengthened by the moonbeams falling upon
The path’s somber sands
Were blending,
Forming one
Forming one
Forming one long, lonely shadow!
Forming one long, lonely shadow!
Forming one long, lonely shadow!
Tonight,
Alone, my soul
Overflowing with the unfathomable grief and agony of your death,
Separated from your being by shadows, by time and distance,
By the infinite darkness
No mortal voice can penetrate,
Alone, silent,
I walked that lonely path,
And somewhere far away dogs were barking at the moon,
At the pale moon,
And frogs were
Shrilly croaking,
I felt cold; it was the chill of the chamber where you lay,
The cold of your cheeks and temples, of your beloved hands
Among the snowy folds
Of mortuary sheets,
It was the icy chill of the tomb, it was the chill of death,
It was the chill of nada…
And my shadow,
Lengthened by the falling moonbeams,
Walked alone,
Walked alone,
Walked alone through the deserted garden!
And your slim, supple shadow,
Languid, mellow,
As on that warm and humid night of springtime death,
As on that night filled with sweet perfumes, with murmurings and music of wings,
Appeared and walked with mine,
Appeared and walked with mine,
Appeared and walked with mine… O shadows entwined!
O shadows that seek each other, blending together on nights of tears and
[black despair!