Paul Hartal

I dream the dreams of shepherds
Their yearnings are mine
I long the longings of peasants
Wandering south of the Rhine.

Walking amid scented almonds
Across groves and vineyards
I remember unknown places
Far off the crowded boulevards.

I travel with sailors and strangers
Gazing at clusters of stars
Under the silhouette of Etna
Sirocco strikes sails on spars.

The mind includes the excluded
The view contains the viewer
I am the fisherman’s boat
An ivory cloud, blue flower.