Travelling Bohemians

Charles Baudelaire 1821 (Paris) – 1867 (Paris)



The prophetic tribe of the ardent eyes
Yesterday they took the road, holding their babies
On their backs, delivering to fierce appetites
The always ready treasure of pendulous breasts.

The men stick their feet out, waving their guns
Alongside the caravan where they tremble together,
Scanning the sky their eyes are weighted down
In mourning for absent chimeras.

At the bottom of his sandy retreat, a cricket
Watched passing, redoubles his song,
Cybele, who loves, adds more flower,

Makes fountains out of rock and blossoms from desert
Opening up before these travelers in a yawn—
A familiar empire, the inscrutable future.

Translated by William A. Sigler

Submitted by Ryan McGuire

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
56

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXXX XBXA XXB XXB B X
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 676
Words 112
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3, 1, 1

Charles Baudelaire

Charles Pierre Baudelaire was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. more…

All Charles Baudelaire poems | Charles Baudelaire Books

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