The Empty Shell On The Beach Poem by Alain Ilan Braun

Draw near your ear this shell
And listen to the sea of my words
Revealing within its waves
My love
My sadness
My anger
Listen to this timeless shell
Telling you all my stories
All my memories
The sea of my life, cruel and bitter
Its frightful storms
Their spray, the color of my tears
Listen please to my frail hopes
Do not let me fall
What's sadder on the deserted beach
Than a lonely empty shell?

Approche ton oreille de ce coquillage
Ecoute la mer de mes mots
Révélant au creux de ses vagues
Mon amour
Ma tristesse
Ma colère
Ecoute mon coquillage sans âge
Te raconter toutes mes histoires
Toute ma mémoire
La mer, cruelle et amère
Ses tempêtes terrifiantes
Ses embruns, couleur de mes pleurs
Ecoute mes fragiles espoirs
Ne me laisse pas choir
Quoi de plus triste sur la plage
Qu’un coquillage vide solitaire?

Translated from the French by the author