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The Flea
John Donne (1572-1631)
Marke but this flea, and marke in this,
How little that which thou deny'st me is;
Me it suck'd first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled bee;
Confesse it, this cannot be said
A sinne, or shame, or losse of maidenhead,
Yet this enjoyes before it wooe,
And pamper'd swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than wee would doe.
Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
When we almost, nay more than maryed are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloysterd in these living walls of Jet.
Though use make thee apt to kill me,
Let not to this, selfe murder added bee,
And sacrilege, three sinnes in killing three.
Cruell and sodaine, has thou since
Purpled thy naile, in blood of innocence?
In what could this flea guilty bee,
Except in that drop which it suckt from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st, and saist that thou
Find'st not thyself, nor mee the weaker now;
'Tis true, then learne how false, feares bee;
Just so much honor, when thou yeeld'st to mee,
Will wast, as this flea's death tooke life from thee.
~ .
Elegy 19. To His Mistress Going to Bed
John Donne
Come, Madam, come, all rest my powers defy,
Until I labor, I in labor lie! The foe oft-times, having the foe in sight,
Is tired with standing though he never fight.
Off with that girdle, like heaven's zone glistering,
But a far fairer world encompassing.
Unpin that spangled breastplate which you wear
that th' eyes of busy fools may be stopped there.
Unlace yourself, for that harmonious chime
Tells me from you that now it is bed-time.
Off with that happy busk, which I envy,
That still can be and still can stand so nigh.
Your gown going off, such beauteous state reveals
As when from flowery meads th' hill's shadow steals.
Off with that wiry coronet and show
The hairy diadem which on you doth grow;
Now off with those shoes, and then safely tread
In this love's hallowed temple, this soft bed.
In such white robes, heaven's angels used to be
Received by men; thou, angel, bring'st with thee
A heaven like Mahomet's paradise; and though
Ill spirits walk in white, we easily know
By this these angels from an evil sprite,
Those set our hairs, but these our flesh upright.
License my roving hands, and let them go
Before, behind, between, above, below.
O my America! my new-found-land,
My kingdom, safeliest when with one man manned,
My mine of precious stones, my empery,
How blest am I in this discovering thee!
To enter in these bonds is to be free;
There where my hand is set, my seal shall be.
Full nakedness! All joys are due to thee.
As souls unbodied, bodies unclothed must be.
To taste whole joys. Gems which you women use
Are like Atalanta's balls, cat in men's views,
That when a fool's eye lighteth on a gem,
His earthly soul may covet theirs, not them.
Like pictures, or like books' gay coverings, made
For laymen, are all women thus arrayed;
Themselves are mystic books, which only we
(Whom their imputed grace will dignify)
Must see revealed. Then since that I may know,
As liberally as to a midwife show
Thyself: cast all, yea, this white linen hence,
There is no penance due to innocence.
~ . ~
To His Coy Mistress
Andrew Marvel (1621-1678)
Had we but World enough, and Time,
This coyness Lady were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long Loves Day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges side
Should'st Rubies find: I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood:
And you should if you please refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than Empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should grow to praise
Thine Eyes, and on thy Forehead Gaze.
Two hundred to adore each Breast:
But thirty thousand to the rest.
An Age at least to every part,
And the last Age should show your Heart.
For Lady you deserve this State;
Nor would I love at lower rate.
But at my back I alwaies hear
Times winged Charriot hurrying near:
And yonder all before us lye
Desarts of vast Eternity.
Thy Beauty shall no more be found;
Nor, in thy marble Vault, shall sound
My echoing Song: then Worms shall try
That long preserv'd Virginity:
And your quaint Honour turns to dust;
And into ashes all my Lust.
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hew
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing Soul transpires
At every pore with instant Fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like am'rous birds of prey,
Rather at once out Time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapt pow'r.
Let us roll all our Strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one Ball:
And tear our Pleasures with rough strife,
Through the Iron gates of Life.
Thus, though we cannot make our Sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.
~ . ~
Rêve pour l'hiver
Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891)
L'hiver, nous irons dans un petit wagon rose
Avec des coussins bleus.
Nous serons bien. Un nid de baisers fous repose
Dans chaque coin moelleux.
Tu fermeras l'oeil, pour ne point voir, par la glace,
Grimacer les ombres des soirs,
Ces monstruosités hargneuses, populace
De démons noirs et de loups noirs.
Puis tu te sentiras la joue égratignée…
Un petit baiser, comme une folle araignée,
Te courra par le cou…
Et tu me diras : " Cherche ! " en inclinant la tête,
- Et nous prendrons du temps à trouver cette bête
- Qui voyage beaucoup...
Dream for Winter
Arthur Rimbaud
In winter, we'll take a little railcar, pink
With blue cushions.
We'll be so at ease. Every corner holds a velvety
nest of mad kisses.
You'll squint an eye, to see nothing, through the window,
Of the faces that the evening shadows make,
Those snarling monsters, a gathered throng
Of black demons and black wolves.
Then, you'll feel a grazing on your cheek…
A kiss, like a demented spider,
Will hurry down your throat…
And you'll tell me, "Look!" as you bow your head,
— And we'll take a while to find that beastie
— Which travels quite a bit…
(Transl. Maureen Holm)
~ . ~
Déshabille-toi
Robert Desnos (1900-45)
Déshabille-toi
Baigne-toi dans cette eau noire
Tu n'as rien à craindre
Tu l'as déjà fait
Le corps humain imperméable ne se mouille pas comme une éponge
Le soleil séchera la boue
Elle tombera en poussière
Baigne-toi
Vas-y
La terre est vaste et ton coeur assi
qui, tous comptes faits et biens faits
ne contient pas encore d'erreur
et n'a jamais contenu de boue.
Take Off Your Clothes
Robert Desnos (1900-45)
Take off your clothes
Bathe in this black water
You have nothing to fear
You've done it before.
The impermeable human body does not moisten like a sponge
The sun will dry the mud
It will fall to dust
Bathe
Go on
The earth is vast and your heart is too
which, all tolled and well tolled
holds no error in it even now
and never any mud.
(Transl. Maureen Holm)
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John Donne's "The Flea" and