Evening over the sea
Jean-Émile-Paul Cras
The sea this evening is a grand mirror.
Everything reposes on it with a great softness.
The dusk is violet,
it is mauve before becoming gray.
A white fire is reflected,
the russet crescent-moon is reflected,
the turning lighthouse at regular intervals
pours its red gaze on it,
a star sends out its flickering,
stretching beam on it,
and the anchored fishing boat
becomes doubled by its image on the mirror.
Tonight the sea reflects the world,
and everything gives everything to it.
My solitary soul is thus reflected
on the calm mirror that my dreams have chosen.