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World Poetry Translation Project


Submit Human Translation | Discuss Poem | Post Poetry | Listen McGill Live

The Song Of The Strange Ascetic

by G.K. Chesterton

If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have praised the purple vine,
My slaves should dig the vineyards,
And I would drink the wine.
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And his slaves grow lean and grey,
That he may drink some tepid milk
Exactly twice a day.

If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have crowned Neaera's curls,
And filled my life with love affairs,
My house with dancing girls;
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And to lecture rooms is forced,
Where his aunts, who are not married,
Demand to be divorced.

If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have sent my armies forth,
And dragged behind my chariots
The Chieftains of the North.
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And he drives the dreary quill,
To lend the poor that funny cash
That makes them poorer still.

If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have piled my pyre on high,
And in a great red whirlwind
Gone roaring to the sky;
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And a richer man than I:
And they put him in an oven,
Just as if he were a pie.

Now who that runs can read it,
The riddle that I write,
Of why this poor old sinner,
Should sin without delight-
But I, I cannot read it
(Although I run and run),
Of them that do not have the faith,
And will not have the fun.


American Review | www.PaperLyon.com | McGill Live Radio | Publish
 

  Translations for this Poem
 English  Spanish  French  Italian
 Portuguese  Korean  Russian  Chinese
 Japanese      
 

  Poems by G.K. Chesterton
  1. A Ballad Of Suicide
  2. Elegy In A Country Churchyard
  3. The Aristocrat
  4. The Donkey
  5. The Great Minimum
  6. The Last Hero
  7. The Rolling English Road
  8. The Song Of The Strange Ascetic
  9. The Strange Music
  10. The Sword Of Surprise
  11. The World State
 
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPRSTVWY[ALL] 
  G.K. Chesterton 
  Gabriela Mistral 
  Galway Kinnell 
  Gary Soto 
  Geoffrey Chaucer 
  Geoffrey Hill 
  Georg Trakl 
  George Herbert 
  George Sterling 
  Gerald Stern 
  Gerard M. Hopkins 
  Gertrude Stein 
  Grace Paley 
  Gregory Corso 
  Guillaume Apollinaire 
  Gwendolyn Brooks 
   

Volunteers needed to translate poetry into different languages. Please help us correct the translation of these poems. We currently have 79,663 translations and are trying to create the largest and most accurate database of world poetry translations. We have started with machine translations which are very inaccurate. Please translate your favorite poem on this site. You will be given credit for your translation and a link to your site if desired. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: These poems have been gathered and submitted by many of people, and from many sources. Most have no copyright. However, some may may have copyrights. We have tried to collect poems that appear on many external sites where the author seems to want to disseminate. If you are an author and do not want your poetry translated into other languages then send a removal request and it will be promptly removed.
 



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