Maybe what I'm writing
is much more than a letter,
rather a message
following a shipwreck.
In the great silence
I'm calling for help,
and so I utter
a last loving word.
You, the impossible1 child,
the impossible dream,
my reason for being,
my love madness
You, through whom I exist
You, the only artist
who could make
my sad Pierrot heart dance
Maybe you'll laugh
as you read my letter,
this cry of distress
written by my tenderness.
I don't care, I love you,
and that's quite enough
to send you anyway
a last loving word.
You, the inscrutable
You, the irreplaceable,
more handsome than the Devil,
more distant than God
You, my bleeding wound2
You, without whom
the joy in my eyes and the fire in my veins
go out3
Maybe you'll laugh
as you read my letter,
this cry of distress
written by my tenderness.
I don't care, I love you,
and that's quite enough
to send you anyway
a last loving word.
1. I've added the pun, hopefully it will compensate for the nice French I couldn't render.
A more literal translation would be "tearaway" or the French "enfant terrible"2. lit. "you through which I bleed"3. sorry about the awkward formatting, but I can't see how to move this "go out" in front