Le Coeur Supplicié : The Tortured Heart Translated by Holly Tannen assisted by Lydia Rand
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Le Coeur Supplicié
Mon triste coeur bave à la poupe,
Ithyphalliques et pioupiesques,
Quand ils auront tari leurs chiques, |
The Tortured Heart
My sad heart drools at the poop,
Standing phallic and soldierlike
When they've exhausted their quids, |
Ithyphallic: Erect (Greek). A reference to artificial phalli carried by the Bacchantes in their celebrations. Pioupious: red-coated soldiers from the center of France. Abracadabrantesques: from "abracadabra", a magical formula used in amulets for protection against fever. Said to derive from the name of the Greek god Abraxas, whose essence integrated good and evil.
Translator's note: This poem exists in three versions, called sequentially "Le Coeur Supplicié" ("The Tortured Heart"), "Le Coeur Volé" ("The Stolen Heart"), and "Coeur de Pitre" ("Heart of a Clown"). I have translated the first version, which he sent to his teacher, George Izambard in the "Lettre du Voyant" of 13 May 1871. |
back to the play next: the Deserts of Love about Practical Alchemy translations |
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Mistress of Folklore Box 1136 Mendocino, California 95460 Fax 707-937-3055 |
Holly Tannen teaches folklore and anthropology, and has lectured on
contemporary magic at U.C. Berkeley and at Yale University. Her recordings
include "Invocation", "Between the Worlds", and "Rime of the Ancient
Matriarch"
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updated 25 April 2002 : 9:44 Caspar (Pacific) time |
All text, translations, and songs copyright © 2002 by Holly Tannen