I spent three months in Grenoble, the capital of the French Alps. One of my intentions during my time studying abroad 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 France, as I reflected on what I had learned from the places, people, and moments that I encountered during my study abroad program.
ce que les montagnes m’ont appris
les montagnes restent immobiles
elles embrassent notre petite ville
dans une chanson constante et douce
voici ce qu’elles disent:
on ne change pas.
on est ici
quand il pleut
quand il neige
quand le vent souffle les feuilles des arbres
on est ici
on est ici
quand tu es esseulé
quand tu es entouré
quand tu marches la nuit et oublies qu’on existe
on est ici
tu marcheras dans la vie
et même si tout autour de toi change—
même si tu laisses tout ce que tu as connu
tu découvriras
qu’on ne change pas.
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—
we don’t change
we are here
when it rains
when it snows
when the wind blows the leaves from the trees
we are here
we are here
when you are lonely
when you are surrounded
when you walk in the night and forget we exist
we are here
you will walk through life
and even in everything around you changes—
even if you leave everything you’ve ever known
you will find
that we don’t change
Natalie Martyn studied abroad in Grenoble, France, during the Fall 2019 semester. She is a graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University. Visit her website here: nataliemartyn.com