WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827) : LA ROSE MALADE / THE SICK ROSE

Ô Rose, tu languis !
Car le ver invisible
Qui vole dans la nuit,
Dans la hurlante trombe,

A su trouver ton lit
De jouissance pourpre ;
Son secret amour sombre
Anéantit ta vie.

O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy;
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

(in Songs of experience, 1794)