Poems by Stéphane Bataillon

It looks dark
in this part of the forest
A mere glow
among impatient tree trunks
seems to invite us there
There is no nature
no green, no birds
Just a terrible scare
That swarms, seeps in
and raises its borders
intending to take us in
We wouldn’t normally go
we would run for our lives
We would run fast enough
for our tears to dry
But not this time.
This time we stay.
We move forth.
We rush in.
To bring down the screams
to get the animals out
to sound the song
Like a deflagration
which settles the place
of new assemblies
A glade
A simple glade.

Where our shadows wed
Où nos ombres s’épousent © Editions Bruno Doucey, 2011, 2016
English translation by Alexis Bernaut





I am looking at the tree outside my window
the tree outside my window brims over my street
the tree outside my window that brims over my street is a beautiful tree
I will leave it tomorrow
the tree outside my window that brims over my street
I will leave my window
I will leave my street
I will leave the keys
in the heart of its trunk
For it to brim over the town
for it to brim over the eyes
of those who will watch
the tree outside their window.

English translation by Alexis Bernaut





What we owe the trees
would be something
something
which nothing could replace which nothing could reach
which nothing could extinguish
which nothing can
What we owe to the trees
nothing
you do not owe a thing
they give you everything
they give you nothingthey ask for nothing
they are asking for you but
you cannot hear

When one should
surrender everything
to them.


English translation by Alexis Bernaut

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Stéphane Bataillon was born in 1975 in Montreuil (France). Poet, writer and journalist, He is Digital Editor-in-chief at Bayard Presse, author and associate at Éditions Bruno Doucey as well as a member of the editorial board of the sound poetry review DONC (at Éditions Thélème). He also participates in the literary and design review PAN (magnani editions).
Bataillon’s work focuses on short and minimalist poetic forms, nano-literature, and experiments in digital writing. He aims at a minimalist and intentional lyric poetry – whether written, visual or sound poetry.
He co-directed an anthology of French-speaking poets for Seghers, and edited and introduced Guillevic’s unpublished Humour blanc (White Humour). In 2010, he published his first collection of poetry at Bruno Doucey – Où nos ombres s’épousent (Where Our Shadows Wed); then his second, in 2013: Les Terres rares (Rare Earths). The second edition of Où nos ombres s’épousent was published in 2016, again by Bruno Doucey, expanded with an unpublished text. Bataillon also authored a collection of nursery rhymes (ed. Tourbillon), children’s books and several scenarios for graphic novels (ed. Bayard), and game books (ed. Pearson).
He works in schools to share the joys and strength of poetic creation with the children.
His personal website, www.stephanebataillon.com, has been online since 2005. It hosts Stéphane Bataillon’s almost daily poetic experiments, as well as the free monthly online poetic magazine Gustave.

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