NOURRITURE: by Gilles-Marie Chenot

NOURRITURE

Mais c’est souvent des terribles naufrages
Que surgissent les plus beaux paysages
Que le voilier sur les rochers se soit écrasé
N’implique pas qu’il soit arrivé malheur au timonier

Quand un cavalier monte un cheval
Il ne mange pas la nourriture
Qu’affectionne sa jolie monture
Des délices plus raffinés sont son régal

La caresse frissonnante du vent astral
Au beau milieu d’une pluie d’étoiles
Le tendre enlacement de la Lumière
Dans un velours de dentellière

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PROVENDER

But from terrible shipwrecks it often is
That the most beautiful landscapes arise
That on the rocks the broken sailboat lists
Misfortune to the helmsman this does not imply

When a rider mounts a horse astride
He does not eat the provender
Of which his mount is fond
But regales himself with delights more refined

The astral wind’s caress shivering
Right in the midst of a rain of stars
Light’s tender intertwining
In a lacemaker’s velvet swath

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To read more work by GMC, click HERE.
To find other poems by GMC on this blog click HERE.

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*Editor’s Note: I was heartbroken to find Gilles-Marie’s obituary in La Voix du Nord. His pointed, poetic comments and his generous spirit will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him. I am thankful that he left me the archive of his poetry last May and I have chosen to present the work that was previously selected for IPM 2015.