Les Regrets/7

VI. 'After long wandering on the darkened plain '

Les Regrets ~ VII written by Joachim Du Bellay translated by A. S. Kline

VIII. 'Oh, happy is he who can pass his days'

Les Regrets - VII. ‘Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage’.

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VII

"Happy, the man who finds sweet journey’s end"
 
Happy, the man who finds sweet journey’s end,
Like Ulysses, or he of the Golden Fleece,
Returning home, well-travelled, wise, to Greece:
To live life out, among his own again!
 
Alas, when will I see the soft smoke rise
From my own village, in what far season
Shall I gaze on my poor house and garden,
Which are my province, and the greater prize?

My love’s deeper for what my fathers’ built,
Than Roman palace-fronts of marble, gilt;
My love’s deeper for good slate; more rare
 
My love for my French Loire than Latin Tiber;
My Liré than the Palatine Hill; and more
Than the sea breezes, the sweet Angevin air.