Montrant d’un doigt le paradis:
Et j’aurais voulu, loin du monde
Qui passait frivole entre nous,
Dans quelque retraite profonde
T’adorer seul à deux genoux.
This first part of the poem is addressed of course to a beautiful child, some girl between the age of childhood and womanhood:
“Beholding thee, Oh darling one, all white in thy azure dress, I thought of some figure of the Madonna robed in a shred of pure blue sky.
“I dreamed of those beautiful figures of saints whom one used to see in olden times smiling in the stained glass of church windows, and pointing upward to Paradise.
“And I could have wished to adore you alone upon my bended knees in some far hidden retreat, away from the frivolous world that passed between us.”
This little bit of ecstasy over the beauty and purity of a child is pretty, but not particularly original. However, it is only an introduction. Now comes the pretty part of the poem: