For NaPoMo: Bird Cage / Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau

[George Dance]

The best of The Penny Blog, for National Poetry Month:
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau

I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird

The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest

When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling

And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop

I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm

It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage

Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say

It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside

It will have my soul in its beak.

http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

[Will Dockery]

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Excellent poem, George... one that made me think of Robin Williams, which I may expound on later, after I return from band rehearsals... a busy few weeks coming up for us.

[Peter J Ross]

In alt.arts.poetry.comments on Thu, 23 Apr 2015 16:06:45 -0700 (PDT),
Will Dockery wrote:

<duncespamsnip>

Post by Will Dockery
Excellent poem, George...

Translation: "SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!"

Post by Will Dockery
me
I
I

For the second time this week, you omitted "my" from your helpfully
objective crit. Have you been prescribed anti-psychotic drugs? If so,
they may be helping.

[Will Dockery]

Post by Peter J Ross
In alt.arts.poetry.comments on Thu, 23 Apr 2015 16:06:45 -0700 (PDT),
<duncespamsnip>

Post by Will Dockery
Excellent poem, George...

Translation: "SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!"

So, you didn't like the poem, Peter?

That's okay, after all:

"Art and life are subjective. Not everybody's gonna dig what I dig, but I reserve the right to dig it." -Whoopi Goldberg

And so it goes.

:D

[George Dance]

Post by Peter J Ross
anti-psychotic drugs
may be helping.
PJR :-)

One can only hope so.

~~
Bird Cage / Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

[Will Dockery]

Post by George Dance

Post by Peter J Ross
anti-psychotic drugs
may be helping.
PJR :-)

One can only hope so.

I suspect he needs his dosage increased a wee bit.

:D

~~
Bird Cage / Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

[Peter J Ross]

In alt.arts.poetry.comments on Thu, 23 Apr 2015 19:54:15 -0400, Will

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance

Post by Peter J Ross
anti-psychotic drugs
may be helping.
PJR :-)

One can only hope so.

I suspect he needs his dosage increased a wee bit.

Seriously: why can no member of your gang succeed in writing a snipku?

I know why none of you can succeed in writing a poem (being illiterate
morons), but nothing could be easier than writing a snipku. So why
can't you do it?

[Will Dockery]

Post by Peter J Ross
I know why none of you can succeed in writing a poem

Well, it might help you with your own shortcomings in that area if you apply that insight to yourself.

Just an idea.

:D

[George Dance]

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Excellent poem, George...

Thanks for the comment, Will. "Cage d'Oiseau" is indeed an excellent poem, which has become a touchstone of modern poetry in Quebec. My translation is not so excellent, but it's the best I could do in English, and in my admittedly biased view it's the best English translation available.

one that made me think of Robin Williams, which I may expound on later, after I return from band rehearsals... a busy few weeks coming up for us.

[Michael Pendragon]

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

I love the concept. At first I thought the bird was a metaphor for a weak heart, but by the poem's end, I realized it was something darker. Stylistically, while readable, it needs work (I'm assuming it's a poor translation from a French original). The word "cage" is repeated too many times in the opening lines, and the sudden change from free verse to triple rhyme in the 7th stanza is just plain bizarre.

[Will Dockery]

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

I love the concept. At first I thought the bird was a metaphor for a weak heart, but by the poem's end, I realized it was something darker. Stylistically, while readable, it needs work (I'm assuming it's a poor translation from a French original). The word "cage" is repeated too many times in the opening lines, and the sudden change from free verse to triple rhyme in the 7th stanza is just plain bizarre.

It is a good one, agreed... at least to my Non-French eyes.

:D

[George Dance]

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

I love the concept. At first I thought the bird was a metaphor for a weak heart, but by the poem's end, I realized it was something darker. Stylistically, while readable, it needs work (I'm assuming it's a poor translation from a French original). The word "cage" is repeated too many times in the opening lines, and the sudden change from free verse to triple rhyme in the 7th stanza is just plain bizarre.

I appreciate the feedback. Your point about the weak heart was quite perceptive: in fact, Garneau had a weak heart, which caused him to drop out of university a few years before he wrote this, and which killed him seven years later -- which was undoubtedly the poem's genesis.

You're also correct that this is a translation from the French original (the original is on the blog, together with the translation). I bristled a bit at "poor translation", since I'm the translator, but in retrospect I welcome it, considering the allegations of "slurping" that have been levelled at both of us from one particular source. And, in fact, your criticisms are well taken, so much that I'd like to comment on them.

There are many translations of "Bird Cage" on the web. All of them have "I am a bird cage" as L1, but none have that L2; the most popular is "A cage of bone". I went with my version, because it reminded me so strongly of Eliot's beginning to "The Hollow Men": "We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men".

I wanted the Eliot allusion because (even though I have no indication that Garneau read Eliot, or any English-language poetry) Garneau's free verse is very much like Eliot's early free verse: full of meter and end-rhyme, but scattered throughout in no particular order, like a melody in a symphony rather than a song. I didn't want to emphasize that, as in translations that do, like John Glassco's, it comes off as rather sing-songy - for example, he translates S2 as

The bird inside my cage of bone
This is death who makes his nest

- but I did want to draw attention to it. So I tried to regularize the meter within some stanzas (just not the same meter throughout). Similarly, while I used perfect endrhyme only once -- the triple rhyme you remark on -- I tried to note his other rhymes with other pairings, from assonance (lot / stop) and consonance (until / all) to repetition (cage / cage).

So it's not a perfect translation (begging the question of whether such a thing is possible). But I considered it more representative of what Garneau was doing than the others I've read.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

[H H]

Post by George Dance
There are many translations of "Bird Cage" on the web. All of them have "I am a bird cage" as L1, but none have that L2; the most popular is "A cage of bone". I went with my version, because it reminded me so strongly of Eliot's beginning to "The Hollow Men": "We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men".

Yes, no one else ever would have thought of that.


https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/Je%20suis%20une%20cage%20d%E2%80%99oiseau%20%0AUne%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0AAvec%20un%20oiseau

[George Dance]

Post by H H

Post by George Dance
There are many translations of "Bird Cage" on the web. All of them have "I am a bird cage" as L1, but none have that L2; the most popular is "A cage of bone". I went with my version, because it reminded me so strongly of Eliot's beginning to "The Hollow Men": "We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men".

Yes, no one else ever would have thought of that.
https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/Je%20suis%20une%20cage%20d%E2%80%99oiseau%20%0AUne%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0AAvec%20un%20oiseau

I'm not sure I'd agree that Google Translate, being an app, "thought" of Eliot. However, given the accusations of 'plagiarism' from HH et al, I think it's instructive to compare the translations in full:

https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/Je%20suis%20une%20cage%20d%E2%80%99oiseau%20%0AUne%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0AAvec%20un%20oiseau%20%0A%0AL%E2%80%99oiseau%20dans%20ma%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0AC%E2%80%99est%20la%20mort%20qui%20fait%20son%20nid%20%0A%0ALorsque%20rien%20n%E2%80%99arrive%20%0AOn%20entend%20froisser%20ses%20ailes%20%0A%0AEt%20quand%20on%20a%20ri%20beaucoup%20%0ASi%20l%E2%80%99on%20cesse%20tout%20%C3%A0%20coup%20%0A%0AOn%20l%E2%80%99entend%20qui%20recoule%20%0AAu%20fond%20%0AComme%20un%20grelot%20%0A%0AC%E2%80%99est%20un%20oiseau%20tenu%20captif%20%0ALa%20mort%20dans%20ma%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0A%0AVoudrait-il%20pas%20s%E2%80%99envoler%20%0AEst-ce%20vous%20qui%20le%20retiendrez%20%0AEst-ce%20moi%20%0AQu%E2%80%99est-ce%20que%20c%E2%80%99est%20%0A%0AIl%20ne%20pourra%20s%E2%80%99en%20aller%20%0AQu%E2%80%99apr%C3%A9s%20avoir%20tout%20mang%C3%A9%20%0AMon%20coeur%20%0ALa%20source%20du%20sang%20%0AAvec%20la%20vie%20dedans%20%0A%0AIl%20aura%20mon%20%C3%A2me%20au%20bec.

Interestingly, back when I wrote my article on Garneau for English Wikipedia, the article featured a link to Google translations as an example of his work, which at least one of the "regulars" here had no problem with

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hector_de_Saint-Denys_Garneau&diff=417056080&oldid=416467743

I later removed that link; one of the acts that got me banned from the site for "vandalism", BTW).

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hector_de_Saint-Denys_Garneau&diff=430939935&oldid=430933361

[Will Dockery]

Post by George Dance

Post by H H

Post by George Dance
There are many translations of "Bird Cage" on the web. All of them have "I am a bird cage" as L1, but none have that L2; the most popular is "A cage of bone". I went with my version, because it reminded me so strongly of Eliot's beginning to "The Hollow Men": "We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men".

Yes, no one else ever would have thought of that.
https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/Je%20suis%20une%20cage%20d%E2%80%99oiseau%20%0AUne%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0AAvec%20un%20oiseau

https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/Je%20suis%20une%20cage%20d%E2%80%99oiseau%20%0AUne%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0AAvec%20un%20oiseau%20%0A%0AL%E2%80%99oiseau%20dans%20ma%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0AC%E2%80%99est%20la%20mort%20qui%20fait%20son%20nid%20%0A%0ALorsque%20rien%20n%E2%80%99arrive%20%0AOn%20entend%20froisser%20ses%20ailes%20%0A%0AEt%20quand%20on%20a%20ri%20beaucoup%20%0ASi%20l%E2%80%99on%20cesse%20tout%20%C3%A0%20coup%20%0A%0AOn%20l%E2%80%99entend%20qui%20recoule%20%0AAu%20fond%20%0AComme%20un%20grelot%20%0A%0AC%E2%80%99est%20un%20oiseau%20tenu%20captif%20%0ALa%20mort%20dans%20ma%20cage%20d%E2%80%99os%20%0A%0AVoudrait-il%20pas%20s%E2%80%99envoler%20%0AEst-ce%20vous%20qui%20le%20retiendrez%20%0AEst-ce%20moi%20%0AQu%E2%80%99est-ce%20que%20c%E2%80%99est%20%0A%0AIl%20ne%20pourra%20s%E2%80%99en%20aller%20%0AQu%E2%80%99apr%C3%A9s%20avoir%20tout%20mang%C3%A9%20%0AMon%20coeur%20%0ALa%20source%20du%20sang%20%0AAvec%20la%20vie%20dedans%20%0A%0AIl%20aura%20mon%20%C3%A2me%20au%20bec.
Interestingly, back when I wrote my article on Garneau for English Wikipedia, the article featured a link to Google translations as an example of his work, which at least one of the "regulars" here had no problem with
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hector_de_Saint-Denys_Garneau&diff=417056080&oldid=416467743
I later removed that link; one of the acts that got me banned from the site for "vandalism", BTW).
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hector_de_Saint-Denys_Garneau&diff=430939935&oldid=430933361

Well, at least we can say you wake up the congregation with your firey sermons, George.

:D

[Michael Pendragon]

Post by George Dance

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

I love the concept. At first I thought the bird was a metaphor for a weak heart, but by the poem's end, I realized it was something darker. Stylistically, while readable, it needs work (I'm assuming it's a poor translation from a French original). The word "cage" is repeated too many times in the opening lines, and the sudden change from free verse to triple rhyme in the 7th stanza is just plain bizarre.

I appreciate the feedback. Your point about the weak heart was quite perceptive: in fact, Garneau had a weak heart, which caused him to drop out of university a few years before he wrote this, and which killed him seven years later -- which was undoubtedly the poem's genesis.
You're also correct that this is a translation from the French original (the original is on the blog, together with the translation). I bristled a bit at "poor translation", since I'm the translator, but in retrospect I welcome it, considering the allegations of "slurping" that have been levelled at both of us from one particular source. And, in fact, your criticisms are well taken, so much that I'd like to comment on them.
There are many translations of "Bird Cage" on the web. All of them have "I am a bird cage" as L1, but none have that L2; the most popular is "A cage of bone". I went with my version, because it reminded me so strongly of Eliot's beginning to "The Hollow Men": "We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men".

Well, there's the answer: I'm decidedly *not* a T.S.E. fan.

Post by George Dance
I wanted the Eliot allusion because (even though I have no indication that Garneau read Eliot, or any English-language poetry) Garneau's free verse is very much like Eliot's early free verse: full of meter and end-rhyme, but scattered throughout in no particular order, like a melody in a symphony rather than a song. I didn't want to emphasize that, as in translations that do, like John Glassco's, it comes off as rather sing-songy - for example, he translates S2 as
The bird inside my cage of bone
This is death who makes his nest
- but I did want to draw attention to it. So I tried to regularize the meter within some stanzas (just not the same meter throughout). Similarly, while I used perfect endrhyme only once -- the triple rhyme you remark on -- I tried to note his other rhymes with other pairings, from assonance (lot / stop) and consonance (until / all) to repetition (cage / cage).

I guess I was giving the original the benefit of the doubt and assuming it had originally been rhymed. I never understood why a poet would jump btw rhyme and free verse within a poem: and always conclude that he'd *intended* to write a rhymed/metered piece, but didn't have the skill to bring it off.

Post by George Dance
So it's not a perfect translation (begging the question of whether such a thing is possible). But I considered it more representative of what Garneau was doing than the others I've read.

And an excellent question it is! I officially disown any translations of my poems (should I ever become famous enough to warrant such). For me, the poem is as much the sound of the words as the meaning. Each word is akin to a musical note: a long "O" has a different tone than a long "E", and there are different nuances of meaning attached to vowel-consonant combinations ("or" has a mournful, forlorn quality). Then there are the various connotations attached to speech: the use of a 10-cent word, for instance, can be used to show that the speaker is being pretentious.

IMO, there can never be a translation that accurately captures the original. By translating a poem, an author transforms it into his own, separate work. Fitzgerald's "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" is a masterpiece, but it's Fitzgerald's work, not Khayyam's that I'm responding to.

***
I just read the original version at TPB (I don't know all the words, but have studied enough French to make an educated guess at the pronunciation). The rhyme/non-rhyme transitions are even more annoying than in the translation.

[Will Dockery]

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by George Dance

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

I love the concept. At first I thought the bird was a metaphor for a weak heart, but by the poem's end, I realized it was something darker. Stylistically, while readable, it needs work (I'm assuming it's a poor translation from a French original). The word "cage" is repeated too many times in the opening lines, and the sudden change from free verse to triple rhyme in the 7th stanza is just plain bizarre.

I appreciate the feedback. Your point about the weak heart was quite perceptive: in fact, Garneau had a weak heart, which caused him to drop out of university a few years before he wrote this, and which killed him seven years later -- which was undoubtedly the poem's genesis.
You're also correct that this is a translation from the French original (the original is on the blog, together with the translation). I bristled a bit at "poor translation", since I'm the translator, but in retrospect I welcome it, considering the allegations of "slurping" that have been levelled at both of us from one particular source. And, in fact, your criticisms are well taken, so much that I'd like to comment on them.
There are many translations of "Bird Cage" on the web. All of them have "I am a bird cage" as L1, but none have that L2; the most popular is "A cage of bone". I went with my version, because it reminded me so strongly of Eliot's beginning to "The Hollow Men": "We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men".

Well, there's the answer: I'm decidedly *not* a T.S.E. fan.

Post by George Dance
I wanted the Eliot allusion because (even though I have no indication that Garneau read Eliot, or any English-language poetry) Garneau's free verse is very much like Eliot's early free verse: full of meter and end-rhyme, but scattered throughout in no particular order, like a melody in a symphony rather than a song. I didn't want to emphasize that, as in translations that do, like John Glassco's, it comes off as rather sing-songy - for example, he translates S2 as
The bird inside my cage of bone
This is death who makes his nest
- but I did want to draw attention to it. So I tried to regularize the meter within some stanzas (just not the same meter throughout). Similarly, while I used perfect endrhyme only once -- the triple rhyme you remark on -- I tried to note his other rhymes with other pairings, from assonance (lot / stop) and consonance (until / all) to repetition (cage / cage).

I guess I was giving the original the benefit of the doubt and assuming it had originally been rhymed. I never understood why a poet would jump btw rhyme and free verse within a poem: and always conclude that he'd *intended* to write a rhymed/metered piece, but didn't have the skill to bring it off.

Post by George Dance
So it's not a perfect translation (begging the question of whether such a thing is possible). But I considered it more representative of what Garneau was doing than the others I've read.

And an excellent question it is! I officially disown any translations of my poems (should I ever become famous enough to warrant such). For me, the poem is as much the sound of the words as the meaning. Each word is akin to a musical note: a long "O" has a different tone than a long "E", and there are different nuances of meaning attached to vowel-consonant combinations ("or" has a mournful, forlorn quality). Then there are the various connotations attached to speech: the use of a 10-cent word, for instance, can be used to show that the speaker is being pretentious.
IMO, there can never be a translation that accurately captures the original. By translating a poem, an author transforms it into his own, separate work. Fitzgerald's "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" is a masterpiece, but it's Fitzgerald's work, not Khayyam's that I'm responding to.
***
I just read the original version at TPB (I don't know all the words, but have studied enough French to make an educated guess at the pronunciation). The rhyme/non-rhyme transitions are even more annoying than in the translation.

Well... everybody here reads French but me.

:D

[Peter J Ross]

In alt.arts.poetry.comments on Sun, 26 Apr 2015 05:38:02 -0700 (PDT),

Post by Will Dockery
Well... everybody here reads French but me.

Dunce, the Creepster and your husband are among those here who can't
read (or speak or write) French.

Or English, for that matter.

[Will Dockery]

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

This is how Robin Williams eventually ties in with all this... long and roundabout, but loved that guy and his humor, and Robin will not be forgotten soon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cage_aux_Folles_%28film%29

La Cage aux Folles is a 1978 French-Italian film adaptation of the 1973 play La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret. It is co-written and directed by Édouard Molinaro and stars Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault. In Italian it is known as Il vizietto. La cage aux folles literally means "the cage of mad women". However folles is also a slang term for effeminate homosexuals (queens).

Like the play, the film tells the story of a gay couple - Renato Baldi (Ugo Tognazzi), the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin Mougeotte (Michel Serrault), his star attraction - and the madness that ensues when Renato's son, Laurent (Rémi Laurent), brings home his fiancée, Andrea (Luisa Maneri), and her ultra-conservative parents (Carmen Scarpitta and Michel Galabru) to meet them.

And was translated to English as...

The film was followed by two sequels: La Cage aux Folles II (1980), also directed by Édouard Molinaro, and La Cage aux folles 3 - 'Elles' se marient (1985), directed by Georges Lautner.

A 1983 Broadway musical of the same name based on the play and the film was also successful.

In 1996, an American remake titled The Birdcage, directed by Mike Nichols, was released, relocated to South Beach, Miami, and stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

And so it went.

[Peter J Ross]

In alt.arts.poetry.comments on Sat, 25 Apr 2015 05:41:40 -0700 (PDT),
<plagiarised spam snipped>

Post by Will Dockery
the story of a gay couple

Obsession noted.

[Will Dockery]

Post by Peter J Ross
<plagiarised

Oh, is the copyright abusing poetry thief Michael D. Cook back again?

I hadn't noticed.

:D

[Will Dockery]

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.

"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by the opaque transparency of poetic language..."

https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050

[Will Dockery]

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.

"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."

https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050

===================================================

I had mostly forgotten this one...

[G***@none.i2p]

Will Dockery wrote on Sun, 08 September 2019 19:59

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================
I had mostly forgotten this one...

Good find, Doc.....

[W.Dockery]

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

Another basically obscure poet, given a chance for a new audience, thanks again, George.

🙂

[Zod]

Post by W.Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

Another basically obscure poet, given a chance for a new audience, thanks again, George.
🙂

Quite fascinating poetry, I thank....

[W.Dockery]

Post by Zod

Post by W.Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

Another basically obscure poet, given a chance for a new audience, thanks again, George.
🙂

Quite fascinating poetry, I thank....

You can read more about the poet on the thread at rec.arts.poems.

[General-Zod]

Post by W.Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

Another basically obscure poet, given a chance for a new audience, thanks again, George.
🙂

Kool...

[W-Dockery]

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

[Michael Pendragon]

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

WILL DONKEY: Duh... this poem has the same title as a Robin Williams movie, so it reminds me of Robin Williams... duh.

[W-Dockery]

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown awhiknd death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

WILL DONKEY: Duh... this poem has the same title as a Robin Williams movie, so it reminds me of Robin Williams... duh.

While the only thing you've managed to think about is trolling me.

🙂

[Michael Pendragon]

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown awhiknd death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

WILL DONKEY: Duh... this poem has the same title as a Robin Williams movie, so it reminds me of Robin Williams... duh.

While the only thing you've managed to think about is trolling me.

Don't post idiotic comments and you won't get trolled.

Deal?

[W.Dockery]

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown awhiknd death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

WILL DONKEY: Duh... this poem has the same title as a Robin Williams movie, so it reminds me of Robin Williams... duh.

While the only thing you've managed to think about is trolling me.

Don't post idiotic comments

Too bad you don't take your own advice, Pendragon.

🙂

[General-Zod]

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

WILL D

Shut up, dip shit....

[W-Dockery]

Post by General-Zod

Post by Michael Pendragon

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

WILL D

Shut up, dip shit....

If only.

🙂

[Victor H.]

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

It was one of his better movies...:

[George J. Dance]

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first
modernist poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his
country in order to connect the poet to the universal themes of the
unknown and death. The poems show the duality of the man through the
look that the child-poet takes on distressing images: birds that
escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by the opaque transparency of
poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

It's something we've run into before, the last time with Jim Senetto's
cento of Pink Floyd titles - the danger of a reference overwhelming the
poem. In this case the reference is purely accidental; it's a literal
translation of Garneau's title (exactly the one Google Translate gives),
and he chose that title and conceit back in the '30s. I can't change it.

[W.Dockery]

Post by George J. Dance

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first
modernist poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his
country in order to connect the poet to the universal themes of the
unknown and death. The poems show the duality of the man through the
look that the child-poet takes on distressing images: birds that
escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by the opaque transparency of
poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
===================================================

This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

It's something we've run into before, the last time with Jim Senetto's
cento of Pink Floyd titles - the danger of a reference overwhelming the
poem. In this case the reference is purely accidental; it's a literal
translation of Garneau's title (exactly the one Google Translate gives),
and he chose that title and conceit back in the '30s. I can't change it.

Yes, I know, while the title of the 1996 Robin Williams film is a translation of the title of the 1973 French play his film was based on, "La Cage aux Folles":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cage_aux_Folles_(film)

[General-Zod]

Post by W-Dockery

Post by Will Dockery

Post by George Dance
Bird Cage, by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
I am a bird cage
A bone cage
With a bird
The bird in my bone cage
Is death making its nest
When nothing is happening
I hear its wings ruffling
And when I've laughed a lot
If I suddenly stop
I hear it chirping
Deep down
Like a tiny alarm
It is a bird held captive
Death in my bone cage
Wouldn't it like to fly away
Is it you who makes it stay
Or is it me
I can't say
It cannot leave until
Having eaten all
My heart
The blood source
With the life inside
It will have my soul in its beak.
http://gdancesbetty.blogspot.ca/2010/03/bird-cage-hector-de-saint-denys-garneau.html

Okay, so I think it is indeed Hector who got the translations.
"Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) is considered the first modernist
poet in Quebec. His poetry feeds on landscapes of his country in order to
connect the poet to the universal themes of the unknown and death. The poems
show the duality of the man through the look that the child-poet takes on
distressing images: birds that escape, forest fires, images exacerbated by
the opaque transparency of poetic language..."
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/2050
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This poem continues to make me think of Robin Williams, an actor I still miss.

Agree and second......!