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Maria, I have come across a 19th century poem call "Les Hirondelles" -- I've only glanced at it. It doesn't include the line you quoted but it's interesting in that the swallows have political significance, in so far as I can discern with my wonky French. I'll post it later or tomorrow and see what someone with more knowledge of French poetry and 19th century history can make of it. Mairead On Sun, 17 Jun 2001, Tidemark Design wrote: > Thanks Mairead - I found the quotation written on a piece of paper in an old copy of "Gitanjali" by Rabindranath Tagore - a series of incredibly beautiful "song poems" that I had never read before. The image of the swallow and her song is a beautiful evocation of the sense of the poetic spirit in these works - following up on Tagore's writing, I also discovered his love of music - which seems to infuse his work. In a conversation with Albert Einstein, Tagore speaks of "songs with unmeaning words" - which for some reason put me in mind, Frank, of Michael McClure's primal language. > > > "EINSTEIN: Can the Indian music be sung without words? Can one understand a song without words? > TAGORE: Yes, we have songs with unmeaning words, sounds which just help to act as carriers of the notes. In North India, music is an independent art, not the interpretation of words and thoughts, as in Bengal. The music is very intricate and subtle and is a complete world of melody by itself." > > http://www.cs.brockport.edu/~smitra/einstein.html > > Now, all I have to do is find the source of "The Swallows"! > > Thanks again > > maria > > -----Original Message----- > From: Poetryetc provides a venue for a dialogue relating to poetry and > poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Mairead Byrne > Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2001 11:40 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: help > > > Maria, I think "viseau" is "oiseau" -- "Because the poet is a bird but > captive -- her songs burst against invisible railings" -- or more or > less. The title means "The Swallows," right? > Mairead >