Requiem.(Translation) . Poem by Michael Walker
Requiem.(Translation) .
Sous le ciel vaste et plein d'etoiles,
Bechez la fosse et laissez-moi me reposer.
Heureux ai-je vecu et heureusement je meurs,
Et je me suis couche volontiers.
Voici le vers que vous inscrivez pour moi:
'Ici se repose-t-il ou il desirait se trouver;
Chez lui est le matelot, chez lui de la mer,
Et le chasseur a la maison de la colline.'
-'Requiem'.Robert Louis Stevenson(1850-1894) .
This is the epitaph which R.L.Stevenson composed for his gravestone: 'Here he lies where he longed to be/ Home is the sailor, home from the sea'. Born in Scotland, Stevenson travelled extensively, and lived much of his life in Apia, Samoa, which is where his gravestone is. (Read Robert Louis Stevenson's life on Poem Hunter) .
Stevenson was a restless man, constantly in ill health, and he married an American lady who wished to escape from her husband. His poems and novels brought him success and the money to buy a house and large estate in Apia. I remember him for his great novel 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', which examines the life of a split personality, one half the good, respectable Dr. Jekyll; and the other half the criminal Mr. Hyde. I play the DVD of this at home quite often still, as it is outside of time, exciting plot and depth psychology. A classic of literature.
Michael, This is like a personal favor. I read this poem while at school and it remains close to my heart. But I was not aware of the personal life of RLS. Further, 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' is one of the earliest novels read by me which is still etched in my memory. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful poem and its creator.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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3/14/2026 12:52:55 AM # 1.0.0
It may be interesting to note that I did a Hindi Translation of this poem exactly two years back (on May 7,2016) on PH.
You will have to mentally swap my two comments around because of an error in the posting system. I have always rated 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' as a great novel, not too long, exciting, and the incredible transformation of one man, very respectable, into another, a criminal and a murderer. All through a chemical process in his lab. The DVD is excellent. Thanks.
That is a very notable coincidence, and thanks for drawing it to my attention.