Grand-père II [English translation]

Even when little they were sad

No hide-and-seek, no Tetris

My sons

For their grandad, at the end of his road

They pull the strings better than

A puppeteer 1

When I took Mark, Alfred, John and Andrew

On the big wheel

At Place De La Concorde

I begged the Good Lord

To treat their spitting

With mercy

Every evening they come up to my room

And readjust the intravenous drip

On my old member

They tell me about their careers 2

Kiss my cheeks and this sucking noise

Disgusts me

But I have understood their scheming

They will be, after my last dance

Well disappointed

As for the house at Porte d'Auteil

They can, like an armchair

Sit on it

1. 'pistonner' to piston is used in French in a similar way to 'pull strings' in English. 2. Their rise - seem like it means their careers but it could as well mean the climb up the stairs or even 'ascension day', although there is no capital 'A' so maybe not...