This is a translation of a poem written by French President Emmanuel Macron in response to one written by an 11-year-old British schoolgirl.
Visiting Paris, young Sophie passed by
A magical giantess brightening the sky.
O mythical monster, your name please do tell.
My numberless fans call me La Tour Eiffel.
But your in your fine’ry, sometimes aren’t you sour
To hear yourself called just an everyday tower?
You the dragon, the fairy guarding Paris with care,
In the grey sky resembling a gigantic flare!
What pleasure you give me! These days they are rare,
Those who honour me, as once, did Apollinaire
Aragon, Cendrars, Trenet or Cocteau
Praise my singular charms and Parisian soul.
As you manage so well to see past the mundane
You could, if you like, when you’re back home again,
Take up your pen and have fun writing down
What you liked about me when you came to my town.
You can count on me there, I’ve got much to recall,
I will write twenty lines! – but who’ll read them at all?
Aha, I know someone who’ll read your kind stanz-
-as. Who’s that? Why, it’s Monsieur the President of France.
Refer to: June 2022 – On tour