The English version presented below is a literal, word-for-word translation. It attempts to preserve the poet's word order as far as possible, for a better appreciation of the composer's musical treatment of individual words and phrases. Download track from iTunes.

Roses ardentes
Dans l’immobile nuit,
C’est en vous que je chante
Et que je suis.

En vous, étincelles
A la cime des bois,
Que je suis éternelle
Et que je vois.

Ô mer profonde,
C’est en toi que mon sang
Renaît vague blonde,
Et flot dansant.

Et c’est en toi, force suprême,
Soleil radieux,
Que mon âme elle-même
Atteint son dieu!

Charles Van Lerberghe

Fiery roses
In the still night,
It is in you that I am singing,
And that I am.

In you, sparks
At the tops of the woods,
That I am eternal,
And that I see.

O deep sea,
It is in you that my blood
Is reborn as a white-capped wave,
And dancing flow.

And it is in you, supreme force,
Radiant sun,
That my very soul
Reaches its God!