Le mot d'absence [English translation]

There is like a smell of chalk and glue

Like a taste of bitter varnish

When I walk past the school railings

Where the evening I waited for my father

There are days of grey sky that stretch on a pink sheet

There are dolls that get bored day and night and that pose

There is Beyoncé on a poster, a raspberry candle

There is a keyboard that repeats the same sentences :

« Where were you, you, every evening ?

The weekends, the holidays ?

Where were you when I had my homework ?

Where is your absence note ?1»

There is like a splinter deep in my heart

Like a big scarf that grips me

When I remind of myself sitting cross-legged

Doing a drawing for my mother

There are days of grey sky that stretch on a pink sheet

There are dolls that get bored day and night and that pose

There is Beyoncé on a poster, a raspberry candle

There is a keyboard that repeats the same sentences :

« Where were you, you, every evening ?

The weekends, the holidays ?

Where were you when I had my homework ?

Where is your absence note ?1»

« Where were you, you, every evening ?

The weekends, the holidays ?

Where were you when I had my homework ?

Where is your absence note ?1»

1. a. b. c. It is "note" as the note you give to your school after being missing

• Artist:Maëlle
• Album:Maëlle (2019)