Poetry: A Particle of You / Une parcelle de toi

Have you ever tried to translate your own poetry or other people’s into a different language? If so, you know that it is almost impossible to render the full meaning or depth of a piece.

With that said, translating poetry can teach you a lot about your mother tongue and how to express thoughts and feelings in novel ways.

The poem below came to me in French, as most of my early pieces. Its flow and words fit the English language really well.

A PARTICLE OF YOU

There is a particle of you

That I will love, always.

A speck of tenderness

Mixed with a grain of happiness

That I remember, always.

You are greater than you think.

That particle of you

Is a gift to the world.

It contains the essence

Of a bashful infant soul

That will soon grow.

Some may tease you,

But I never ever will.

Because, that particle of you

Is a speck of tenderness

Mixed with a grain of happiness.

And it is a gift to the world

That I will treasure

until It is time for us to part.

There is a particle of you

That I will love, always.

©2008 Cendrine Marrouat

UNE PARCELLE DE TOI

Il y a une parcelle de toi

Que j'aimerai toujours.

Un grain de tendresse

Mêlé à un brin de joie

Que je n'oublierai jamais.

Tu es une belle personne, tu sais.

Cette parcelle de toi

Est un cadeau pour le monde.

Elle contient l'essence

D'une âme enfantine timide

Qui ne tardera pas à grandir.

Certains peuvent se moquer

Mais moi, je ne le ferai pas.

Car, cette parcelle de toi

Est un grain de tendresse

Mêlé à un brin de joie.

Et c'est un cadeau pour le monde

Que je chérirai jusqu'à ce que

Vienne le temps de nous séparer.

Il y a une parcelle de toi

Que j'aimerai toujours.

©2008 Cendrine Marrouat

That's it for today! Thank you for reading!

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Cendrine Marrouat is a writer, photographer, podcaster, blogger, anthology editor, and the co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms and A Warm Cup of Cozy. She has authored and co-authored more than 40 books, including The Train: A Short Story (2023), In Her Own Words: A Collection of Short Stories & Flashku (2022), After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine (2021), Rhythm Flourishing: A Collection of Kindku and Sixku (2020), Walks: A Collection of Haiku (2019-2020), and In the Silence of Words: A Three-Act Play (2018).

Cendrine's work has appeared in many publications. She is the creator of the Sixku, Flashku, Sepigram, and Reminigram; as well as the co-creator of the Kindku, Pareiku, Vardhaku, and Hemingku.