A Little French Poetry

J'aimerai toujours le temps des cerises.

C'est de ce temps-là que je garde au coeur

Une plaie ouverte,

Et dame Fortune, en m'étant offerte,

Ne saurait jamais calmer ma douleur.

J'aimerai toujours le temps des cerises

Et le souvenir que je garde au coeur.   

   -Jean-Baptiste Clement (1837-1903)

I will always love the time of cherries.

It's from those times that I hold in my heart

An open wound

and the offerings of Lady Luck

Can never soothe my pain.

I will always love the time of cherries

And the memory I hold in my heart. 

***

So fleeting, these simple pleasures, but these are what I am cherishing here away from the hustle and bustle of the city:

-almost total quiet, except for the crickets chirping, the rooster crowing in the morning, the occasional sheep bleating, and a bell chime or two from the neighboring villages

-the scent of honeysuckle that wafts over me every time I open the back door

-the golden light on the wheat fields in the afternoon

-the kids happily biking to through the medieval village with their French cousins

-white nights till about 10 p.m., then a gorgeous moon over the Normandy fields

-simple meals, ordinary talk, and laughter