To make a detour for a flower!
To take time for a friend!
To be ready without fearing love!
O my beloved flower, I am speaking to you,
To your refuge I will come back,
To your eyelids I’ll whisper a message,
My gentleness will freshen you.
It will dig a grave around you
And, inside me, you will keep alive.
On a spring morning, I will find my place
And sleep beside your heart
Like a dreamy butterfly, dispensing my freshness
Over your life and your scented festoon,
I will savour the fruit of your body.
And the light in your eyes, I will seize.
From Exuberances (2015) – with illustrations by Micheline Masse.
Translated from French by the author.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
MARTINA NICOLLS