Francis Ponge was born in Montpellier 1899 and a key essayist and poet in 20th century French literature. The poems translated here are early works from the 1920's, taken from Le Grand Recueil: Lyres, Vol. 1 and from Le Parti-pris des choses.

 

Fire [Le Feu]

Fire sets forth: at first, each flame somehow finds its own way…
(Fire’s walk is like that of an animal: it must leave one place to occupy another; it
walks like an amoeba and a giraffe, leaping the length of its neck, crawling along
on its feet)…
Then, while the contaminated bulk methodically caves in, the escaping gases are
transformed into a peculiar slant of butterflies.

 

The Match [L’Allumette]

Fire makes a body of the match.
A living soul with its own expression,
its own glory, its own short history.
The gas rising from it blazes;
bestowing wings, a costume, even a body:
a truly moving thing,
stirring.

It all happens so quickly!

Only the head has the power to catch fire when it comes into contact with harsh
reality
- sounds like the crack of a starting pistol.
But, as soon as it takes hold,
the flame
- upright, swift, a sail blown like a racing yacht -
          travels the length of its own wooden boom,

And hardly has it come about
it leaves
            black as the hat of a parish priest.

 

Fire and Ash [Feu et Cendres]

Agile fire, inert ash.
Sneering fire, serene ash.
Primate fire, pussy cat ash.
Fire clambers from branch to branch, ash squats down into a sleepy pile.
Fire grows, ash shrinks.
Shining fire, sullen ash.
Hissing fire, hushing ash.
Fire hot, ash cold.
Contagious fire, containing ash.
Fire red, ash grey.
Greek fire, Roman ash.
Fire the victor, ash the vanquished.
Fearless fire, frightened ash.
Fire scalds, ash scatters.
Wild fire, ash swept aside.
Playful fire, plaintive ash.
Animal fire, mineral ash.
Inflamed fire, impotent ash.
Fire the bulldozer, ash the builder.
Red fire and grey ash come together, one of nature’s favourite standards.

 

First published in Free Verse

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