Decline of love
Charles Koechlin
A stifled murmur permeates
the mortal sigh of autumn,
brushing the chilly reeds on the lakeshore.
The sad water and the willow are talking to each other.
The willow: I'm languishing! My greenery
is falling and littering your icy crystal.
You, who were the companion of my vanished spring,
are today its grave.
He said: The leaf slips and will fill the brown water.
The water replied: My pale lover,
don't shed your leaves
slowly, one by one.
This kiss hurts me as much,
I assure you, as the blows of heavy oars.
It makes me tremble
like an ever-spreading wound!
How this long, rare trembling torments me!
Why forget me little by little?
Cruelly shake your farewell kisses
down on your lover all at once!