I lost a crucial part of my own self
in turning my back on my mother tongue,
when once I spoke, and laughed, and dreamt in French,
I now, without fail, count myself among,
those sad cases of lost identity
that should serve as a warning to the young.
Even writing these few reflective lines
I fall back on the comfort of five feet
at home with iamb and pentameter
and from the alexandrine I retreat.
(Though once it was Racine and not Shakespeare
that would author my literary treats.)
Mais j’ai décidé que, pour moi ça ne vaut plus
la peine de me cacher derrière la langue anglaise,
Je vais réapprendre la langue que j’avais sue
et maintenant que l’autre partie de moi se taise.
But I’ve decided it no longer pays,
hiding behind the language I know best,
I’ll re-learn many a forgotten phrase
while, for now, keeping quiet with the rest.
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