2024-06-21 National Smoothie Day

【My arm clasped your fragile waist (Mon bras pressait ta taille frêle)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

             My arm clasped your fragile waist

             that's supple as a reed;

             Your br

2024-06-21 Wagyu Day

【Chanson】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

             Si vous n'avez rien à me dire,

             Pourquoi venir auprès de moi ?

             Pourquoi me faire ce sourire

             Qui tou

2024-06-21 World Music Day

【The Genesis Of The Butterfly (Vere novo)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

    The dawn is smiling on the dew that covers

    The tearful roses; lo, the little lovers

    That kiss the buds, and all the flutterings

    In jasmine bloom, and periwinkl

2024-06-20 National Vanilla Milkshake Day

【January 1^st (1er janvier)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

         Child, you will be told later that the grandfather

         adored you; that he did his best on earth,

         That he had very little joy and much envy,

    &n

2024-06-20 National Ice Cream Soda Day

【I love a little child, and I'm an old fool

 (J'aime un petit enfant, et je suis un vieux fou)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

    Grandfather?

    What?

    I want to go away.

    To go where?

    Wherever

2024-06-20 World Tapas Day

【Yesterday Evening (Hier Au Soir)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

         Yesterday, the evening wind, whose breath caresses,

         Brought us the scent of flowers that open late;

         Night was falling; the bird slept in the thick shadow.

2024-06-19 World Sauntering Day

【The Ocean's Song (Nous nous promenions à Rozel-Tower)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

    We walked amongst the ruins famed in story

    Of Rozel-Tower,

    And saw the boundless waters stretch in glory

    And heave in power.

  &

2024-06-19 National Garfield the Cat Day

【To A Woman (A une femme)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

  Child! if I were king, I would give the empire,

  And my chariot, and my scepter, and my people on their knees

  And my crown of gold, and my baths of porphyry,

  And my fleets, for which the sea cannot suffice,

  For a look of you

2024-06-18 International Picnic Day

【To the Imperious Beauty (A la belle impérieuse)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

                Love, panic

                Of reason,

2024-06-18 Sustainable Gastronomy Day

【To My Daughter Adele (A ma fille Adèle)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

        As a child, you slept near me, pink and fresh,

        Like a baby Jesus dozing in his manger;

        Your pure sle

2024-06-18 National Go Fishing Day

【To Souls Flown Away (A des âmes envolées)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

        These souls that you recall,

        My heart, don't come back.

        Why then do they persist,

2024-06-17 World Tessellation Day

【Written Beneath a Crucifix (Ecrit au bas d'un crucifix)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

        You who weep, come to this God, for he weeps.

        You who suffer, come to him, for he cures.

       &

2024-06-17 National Take Your Cat to Work Day

【More Strong Than Time (Plus fort que le temps)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

    Since I have set my lips to your full cup, my sweet,

    Since I my pallid face between your hands have laid,

    Since I have known your soul, and all the bloom of it,

&n

2024-06-17 National Stewart's Root Beer Day

【June Nights (Nuits de juin)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

    In summer, when the day has fled, the plain covered with flowers

    Pours out far away an intoxicating scent;

    Eyes shut, ears half open to noises,

    We only

2024-06-17 National Apple Strudel Day

【Sunset (Les Soleils Couchants)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

The sun set tonight in the clouds.

Tomorrow will come the storm, and the evening, and the night;

Then dawn, and its clarity of obstructed vapors;

Then the nights, then the days, not of time that flees!

All these days will pass; they will pass in crowds

On

2024-06-17 National Eat Your Vegetables Day

【Tomorrow at Dawn (Demain, dès l'aube)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

    Tomorrow, at dawn, when the countryside brightens,

    I will depart. You see, I know that you wait for me.

    I will go through the woods, I will go past the mountains.

&n

2024-06-02 National Bubba Day

【The Grave and The Rose (La tombe dit à la rose)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

        The grave said to the rose:

        "With the tears that dawn sprinkles upon you

        What do you make, flow

2024-06-02 National Rocky Road Day

【If My Verses Had The Wings (Si mes vers avaient des ailes)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

            Songs as sweet as summer brings,

            To your flowery lawn should fly

   &

2024-06-02 National Rotisserie Chicken Day

【The Poor Children (Les enfants pauvres)】

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

        Take heed of this small child of earth;

        He is great; he hath in him God most high.

        Children bef

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • Orpheus】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

               Look at this pestilential tribe

               Its thousand feet, its hundred eyes:

               Beetles, insec

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • Orpheus】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

       His heart was the bait: the heavens were the pond!

         For, fisherman, what fresh or seawater catch

         equals him, either in form or savour,

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • Orpheus】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

      Admire the vital power

      And the nobility of line:

      It’s the voice that the light made us understand here

      Th

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Tortoise】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

           From magic Thrace, O delerium!

           My sure fingers sound the strings.

       &nb

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Tibetan Goat】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

               The fleece of this goat and even

               That gold one which cost such pain

               To Jas

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Horse】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

          My harsh dreams knew the riding of you

        My gold-charioted fate will be your lovely car

          That for reins will hold tight t

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Cat】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 I wish there to be in my house:

                 A woman possessing reason,

                 A c

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Hare】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 Don’t be fearful and lascivious

                 Like the hare and the amorous.

                &nbs

2018-07-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Rabbit】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 There’s another cony I remember

                 That I’d so like to take alive.

                &

2018-07-21

【Aiden in English】

        Wow, the Mediterranean Romance is almost over. I haven't been counting the days, but time sometimes flies faster than you expect. After crossing the halfway point, there's something psychological about the perception of time, and now I'm racing toward the fini

2018-07-20

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Dromedary】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 With his four dromedaries

                 Don Pedro of Alfaroubeira

                 Trav

2018-07-20

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Jellyfish】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

              Medusas, miserable heads

              With hairs of violet

    &nbs

2018-07-20

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Fly】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 The songs that our flies know

                 Were taught to them in Norway

                 By

2018-07-20

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Lion】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 O lion, miserable image

                 Of kings lamentably chosen,

                 Now you’

2018-07-20

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Lobster】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 Uncertainty, O my delights

                 You and I, we go

                 As lobsters tr

2017-08-22

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Peacock】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

               In spreading out his fan, this bird,

               Whose plumage drags on earth, I fear,

               Appe

2017-08-22

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Dove】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                   Dove, both love and spirit

                   Who engendered Jesus Christ,

              &nbs

2017-08-22

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Carp】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 In your pools, and in your ponds,

                 Carp, you indeed live long!

2017-08-22

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Dolphin】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 Here’s the slender grasshopper

                 The food that fed Saint John.

                &nb

2017-08-22

【Aiden in English】

        Another perplexing Alsatian town. It is difficult to pinpoint what culture it belongs to. By now, I've come to accept that these places, which have shifted between the German and French lands throughout history, have created a distinct culture altogether. 

 &

2017-08-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Grasshopper】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                Here’s the slender grasshopper

                The food that fed Saint John.

                May my vers

2017-08-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Flea】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 Fleas, friends, lovers too,

                 How cruel are those who love us!

2017-08-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Caterpillar】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 Work leads us to riches.

                 Poor poets, work on!

                 The cate

2017-08-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Elephant】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 I carry treasure in my mouth,

                 As an elephant his ivory.

                 A

2017-08-21

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Mouse】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 Sweet days, the mice of time,

                 You gnaw my life, moon by moon.

                &nbs

2017-08-21

【Aiden in English】

        Today, Mom and I entered France. No, Germany. Ehhhh... France. Maybe Germany- no, no, definitely France. By now, after two world wars, everyone in Strasbourg is tired of switching back and forth between the countries. Luckily, both countries use the euro, so whicheve

2016-07-18

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Serpent】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

            You set yourself against beauty.

            And how many women have been

      &n

2016-07-18

【Bestiary: the Parade of Orpheus • The Octopus】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 Hurling his ink at skies above,

                 Sucking the blood of what he loves

              &nbs

2016-07-18

【Le Pont Mirabeau】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

         Under the Mirabeau bridge flows the Seine

         And our loves

         Must I remember them

        &nb

2016-07-18

【Au lac de tes yeux】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

                 Au lac de tes yeux très profond

                 Mon pauvre cœur se noie et fond

                 Là le défont

2016-07-18

【Rhineland Night】

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880—1918)

      My glass is full of wine, trembling like a flame

      Listen to the slow song of the boatman

     Who tells of seeing seven women under the light of the moon

      Twisting their long green hair to t

2016-07-18

【Aiden in English】

    Finally, we're going into a brand-new country. Not to offend any Englishmen, but you're getting old. Therefore, out with the old and in with the latest.