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by
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) |
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Baudelaire's
poems are mostly love poems - more properly erotic poems in three
principal cycles, corresponding to the three mistresses who inspired
him: Black Venus, for Jeanne Duval; White Venus, for Apollonie-Aglaé
Sabatier; and Green-Eyed Venus, for Marie Daubrun. These poems were
published in June, 1857 for his sole collection, "Les Fleurs
du mal" (The Flowers of Evil). All those involved - author, publisher,
and printer - were prosecuted, found guilty of obscenity and blasphemy,
and fined, and for several generations "Les Fleurs du mal"
remained a byword for depravity, morbidity, and obscenity. The poem
reproduced here is from a translation by George Dillon, in 1936, and
was a part of a translation of all the poems in "Les Fleurs du
mal" by Dillon and Edna St. Vincent Millay, with the original
French on one page and the English translation directly opposite.
This book is well-worth having, not just because of the excellence
of the translations, but also because of the introductory essay by
Millay, who discusses the differences between the English language
and French, and the challenges facing any translator of poetry from
one language to another. |
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Like angels with bright savage eyes
I will come treading phantom-wise
Here where you usually sleep,
When shadows of the night are deep.
And I will give you, my dark one,
Kisses as icy as the moon,
Caresses as of snakes that crawl
In circles round a cistern's wall.
When morning shows its livid face
There will be no-one in my place,
And a strange cold will settle here.
Others by some more tender art
May think to reign upon your heart.
As for myself, I trust to fear.
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Commes les anges à l'œil fauve,
Je reviendrai dans ton alcôve
Et vers toi glisserai sans bruit
Avec les ombres de la nuit;
Et je te donnerai, ma brune,
Des baisers froids comme la lune
Et des caresses de serpent
Autour d'une fosse rampant.
Quand viendra le matin livide,
Tu trouveras ma place vide,
Où jusqu'au soir il fera froid.
Comme d'autres par la tendresse,
Sur ta vie et sur ta jeunesse
Moi, je veux régner par l'effroi!
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