Charles Baudelaire

Le Gout du Neant Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ Morne esprit, autrefois amoureux de la lutte,L’Espoir, dont l’ﾂperon attisait ton ardeur,Ne veut plus t’enfourcher! Couche-toi sans pudeur,Vieux cheval dont le pied ﾅ chaque obstacle bute. Rﾂsigne-toi, mon coeur; dors ton sommeil de brute. Esprit vaincu, fourbu! Pour toi, vieux maraudeur,L’amour n’a plus de gout, non … Read more…

LInvitation au Voyage Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ Mon enfant, ma soeur,Songe ﾅ la douceur,D’aller lﾅ-bas, vivre ensemble!Aimer ﾅ loisir,Aimer et mourir,Au pays qui te ressemble!Les soleils mouillﾂs,De ces ciels brouillﾂs,Pour mon esprit ont les charmes,Si mystﾂrieux,De tes traﾌtres yeux,Brillant ﾅ travers leurs larmes. Lﾅ, tout n’est qu’ordre et beautﾂ,Luxe, calme et voluptﾂ. Des meubles … Read more…

Music Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ Take me by the hand;it’s so easy for you, Angel,for you are the roadeven while being immobile. You see, I’m scared no onehere will look for me again;I couldn’t make use ofwhatever was given, so they abandoned me. At first the solitudecharmed me like a prelude,but so much music … Read more…

My Earlier Life Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ I’ve been home a long time among the vast porticos,Which the mariner sun has tinged with a million fires,Whose grandest pillars, upright, majestic and coldRender them the same, this evening, as caves with basalt spires. The swells’ overwhelming accords of rich music,Heaving images of heaven to the … Read more…

REVERSIBILITY Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ ANGEL of gaiety, have you tasted grief? Shame and remorse and sobs and weary spite, And the vague terrors of the fearful night That crush the heart up like a crumpled leaf? Angel of gaiety, have you tasted grief? Angel of kindness, have you tasted hate? With hands clenched … Read more…

SONNET OF AUTUMN Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ THEY say to me, thy clear and crystal eyes: “Why dost thou love me so, strange lover mine?” Be sweet, be still! My heart and soul despise All save that antique brute-like faith of thine; And will not bare the secret of their shame To thee whose … Read more…

Spleen IV Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ Quand le ciel bas et lourd pﾊse comme un couvercleSur l’esprit gﾂmissant en proie aux longs ennuis,Et que de l’horizon embrassant tout le cercleIl nous verse un jour noir plus triste que les nuits; Quand la terre est changﾂe en un cachot humide,Oﾗ l’espﾂrance, comme un chauve-souris,S’en va … Read more…

The Albatross Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ Often, to amuse themselves, the crew of the shipWould fell an albatross, the largest of sea birds,Indolent companions of their tripAs they slide across the deep sea’s bitters. Scarcely had they dropped to the plankThan these blue kings, maladroit and ashamedLet their great white wings sinkLike an oar … Read more…

The Bad Monk Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ On the great walls of ancient cloisters were nailedMurals displaying Truth the saint,Whose effect, reheating the pious entrailsBrought to an austere chill a warming paint. In the times when Christ was seeded around,More than one illustrious monk, today unknownTook for a studio the funeral groundsAnd glorified Death … Read more…

THE DANCE OF DEATH Poem  ………………. by Charles Baudelaire _______________________________________________________________________________________ CARRYING bouquet, and handkerchief, and gloves, Proud of her height as when she lived, she moves With all the careless and high-stepping grace, And the extravagant courtesan’s thin face. Was slimmer waist e’er in a ball-room wooed? Her floating robe, in royal amplitude, Falls in deep … Read more…