Lyr. Add: I Live With You, My Betrothed
Louis Riel, 1881, translation Paul Savoie

1
I live with you, my betrothed
Though Mother Church's holy blessing
Has not yet been bestowed
On us. Still, you wear my gold ring.
2
I wedded you. O my lover
In the year of eighty-one,
Close by the cockle-shell river.
Under common law, we were one.
3
If the circuit priest's intention
Is to honor our petition,
We will fly to Fort Benton
To gain our sin's remission.
4
Our hearts require ths blessing
To embolden our bond ...

5
For fifteen years, a lone man
God Almighty I petitioned
To grant me a good woman
Well-born, well intentioned.
6
*Father Primeau assured me
My prayers would be answered.
My loving Master surely
Would grant me what I desired.
7
Yes, His promise has held true.
I have found my heart's pride,
A woman who dispells all rue;
The woman biding by my side.
8
Because no priest was present,
My love, we were forced
To wed this way.
My love, there will be no shame.

(Original French will be posted later)

The formal vows were taken the following year, the ceremony blessed by Father Joseph Damiani.
*Primeau, John Baptiste, was Riel's confessor in Massachusetts.

The poem shows the deep religious feelings of Riel; few of his poems do not.
The poem also shows how Riel wrote his poems; they were dashed off as the thoughts came to him and only rarely corrected or revised. This has led some historians to call his poems doggerel, but they express his feelings and are necessary to the understanding of the man.
"Selected Poetry of Louis Riel," translated by Paul Savoie and edited by Glen Campbell, 1993, Exile Editions.

"The Collected Writings of Louis Riel/Les Ecrits complets de Louis Riel," Ed. in Chief George F. G. Stanley, 1985, University of Alberta Press, occupy five volumes; his poetry, over 500 pages, takes up volume 4 (ed. by Glen Campbell).