Poems

Elevation Above the ponds, beyond the valleys, The woods, the mountains, the clouds, the seas, Farther than the sun, the distant breeze, The spheres that wilt […]

Evening Harmony The hour has come at last when, trembling to and fro, Each flower is a censer sifting its perfume; The scent and sounds all […]

Get Drunk Always be drunk. That’s it! The great imperative! In order not to feel Time’s horrid fardel bruise your shoulders, grinding you into the earth, […]

Her Hair O fleece, that down the neck waves to the nape! O curls! O perfume nonchalant and rare! O ecstasy! To fill this alcove shape […]

I Love The Naked Ages Long Ago I love the naked ages long ago When statues were gilded by Apollo, When men and women of agility […]

Ill-Starred To bear a weight that cannot be borne, Sisyphus, even you aren’t that strong, Although your heart cannot be torn Time is short and Art […]

Invitation to the Voyage Imagine, ma petite, Dear sister mine, how sweet Were we to go and take our pleasure Leisurely, you and I— To lie, […]

Le Gout du Néant Morne esprit, autrefois amoureux de la lutte, L’Espoir, dont l’éperon attisait ton ardeur, Ne veut plus t’enfourcher! Couche-toi sans pudeur, Vieux cheval […]

Lethe Come to my heart, cruel, insensible one, Adored tiger, monster with the indolent air; I would for a long time plunge my trembling fingers Into […]

My Earlier Life I’ve been home a long time among the vast porticos, Which the mariner sun has tinged with a million fires, Whose grandest pillars, […]