Poem of the Week - ‘Song of the Glazier’ by Jacques Prévert
On the back cover of Jacques Prévert’s Selected Poems (Hearing Eye, 2002) the editors of the book note that Prévert ‘has been the most widely-read poet in France for years, but he is hardly known in the English-speaking world.’ Well, you got me there, Hearing Eye. Until I picked up this book, I’d never read a single Prévert poem. But, having had a bit of a Prévert marathon in the office over the past few days, I can safely say that I have been missing out. Here’s my favourite that I’ve discovered so far:
Song of the Glazier
How fine it is
what you can see just like that
through the sand through the glass
through the window panes
here look for example
how fine it is
that woodcutter
way over there
who is cutting down a tree
to make planks
for the joiner
who has to make a big bed
for the little flower-seller
who is going to marry
the lamplighter
who lights the street lamps every evening
so that the cobbler can see
to repair the shoes of the shoe-shine boy
who brushes those of the knife-grinder
who sharpens the scissors of the hairdresser
who cuts the hair of the bird seller
who gives his birds to everyone
to put everyone in a good mood.