Il y avait que le salut n’est qu’à ce prix.face
Ruiner la face nue qui monte dans le marbre,
Marteler toute forme toute beauté.
Aimer la perfection parce qu’elle est le seuil,
Mais la nier sitôt connue, l’oublier morte,
L’imperfection est la cime.
*
And so it was that you had to destroy and destroy and destroy,
And so it was that salvation is only at this price.
Ruin the naked face rising out of the marble,
Batter all form all beauty.
Love perfection because it is the threshold,
But once known disown it, once dead forget it,
Imperfection is the summit.
***
Yves Bonnefoy (1923-2016) – Hier régnant désert (1958)