Paul Valéry

The Amicable Wood


We bethought ourselves of things pure
Side by side, along the ways,
We were hand in hand always
Speechless... amid flowers obscure;

We were walking like a couple
Alone, in the meadows' green night;
We partook of that faëry fruit
The moon to madmen amicable

And then, we were dead on the moss,
Far-off, amid the shadow soft
Of that wood close and murmuring;

And above, in light immense,
We found ourselves together weeping
O most dear companion of silence!
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