Not to be Understood
By René Char
Word count: 81
Paragraphs: 4
Translated by Mary Ann Caws
In the course of the so dark struggle and the so dark immobility, terror blinding my kingdom, I rose from the winged lions of the harvest to the cold cry of the anemone. I came to the world in the deformity of each being’s chains. We both freed ourselves. I drew from a compatible morality an irreproachable help. Despite a thirst to disappear, I was prodigal in waiting, in valiant faith. No renouncing.
René Char (1907-88) is one of the most important modern French poets.