THE POSSESSED ONE
by: Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)
- he sun is enveloped in crape! like it,
- O Moon of my Life! wrap thyself up in shade;
- At will, smoke or slumber, be silent, be staid,
- And dive deep down in Dispassion's dark pit.
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- I cherish thee thus! But if 'tis thy mood,
- Like a star that from out its penumbra appears,
- To float in the regions where madness careers,
- Fair dagger! burst forth from thy sheath! 'tis good.
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- Yea, light up thine eyes at the Fire of Renown!
- Or kindle desire by the looks of some clown!
- Thine All is my joy, whether dull or aflame!
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- Just be what thou wilt, black night, dawn divine,
- There is not a nerve in my trembling frame
- But cries, "I adore thee, Beelzebub mine!"
"The Possessed One" is reprinted from The Flowers of Evil. Charles Baudelaire. London: Elkin Mathews, 1909. |
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