Ce que les montagnes m'ont appris: What the mountains taught me

I spent three months in Grenoble, the capital of the 法国阿尔卑斯山脉. One of my intentions during my time 宝博体育 was to explore the constants in life — the things that would remain even as everything around me changed. I wrote this poem on my last evening in 法国, as I reflected on what I had learned from the places, 人, and moments that I encountered.

les montagnes restent immobiles

elles embrassent notre petite ville

dans une chanson constante et douce

voici ce qu’elles disent:

在一次改变中.

在est上 

Quand i plet

Quand将会消失

quand le vent souffle les feuilles des arbres

在est上

在est上 

Quand tu esseulesur

Quand tues随从

quand tu marches la nuit et oublies qu’on existe

在est上

tu marcheras dans la vie

et même si tout autour de toi change— 

même si tu laisses tout ce que tu as connu

你decouvriras 

愿你永不改变. 

what the mountains taught me

the mountains stand still

they embrace our little city

in a constant and quiet song

this is what they say— 

我们不会改变

我们在这里

当下雨的时候

当下雪的时候

when the wind blows the leaves from the trees

我们在这里

我们在这里

当你孤独的时候

when you are surrounded

when you walk in the night and forget we exist

我们在这里

you will walk through life

and even in everything around you changes— 

even if you leave everything you’ve ever known

你会发现

我们不会改变


Natalie Martyn studied abroad in Grenoble, 法国, during the Fall 2019 semester. She is a graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University. Visit her website here: nataliemartyn.com