April
And now the dust and the fine days,
An azure sky and walls ablaze
With burning light, long nights, no breeze,
And nothing green; a ruddy shine
Just barely stains, like a red wine,
The black branches of the large trees.
Upon me this fine weather weighs.
Only after long rainy days
Should spring then come, Nature's daughter,
Turning rosy and turning green,
Like a blooming nymph in a scene
Who, smiling, springs from the water.
__________________________
Gerard de Nerval
Little Castles of Bohemia
translated by Napoleon Jeffries
Wakefield Press 2025
