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I.
No one's serious at seventeen.
--On beautiful nights when beer and lemonade
And loud, blinding cafés are the last thing you need
--You stroll beneath green lindens on the promenade.
Lindens smell fine on fine June nights!
Sometimes the air is so sweet that you close your eyes;
The wind brings sounds--the town is near--
And carries scents of vineyards and beer. . .
II.
--Over there, framed by a branch
You can see a little patch of dark blue
Stung by a sinister star that fades
With faint quiverings, so small and white. . .
June nights! Seventeen!--Drink it in.
Sap is champagne, it goes to your head. . .
The mind wanders, you feel a kiss
On your lips, quivering like a living thing. . .
III.
The wild heart Crusoes through a thousand novels
--And when a young girl walks alluringly
Through a streetlamp's pale light, beneath the ominous shadow
Of her father's starched collar. . .
Because as she passes by, boot heels tapping,
She turns on a dime, eyes wide,
Finding you too sweet to resist. . .
--And cavatinas die on your lips.
IV.
You're in love. Off the market till August.
You're in love.--Your sonnets make Her laugh.
Your friends are gone, you're bad news.
--Then, one night, your beloved, writes. . .!
That night. . .you return to the blinding cafés;
You order beer or lemonade. . .
--No one's serious at seventeen
When lindens line the promenade.
Arthur Rimbaud
| Submitted Date |
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Monday, January 20, 2003 |
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Read poems about / on: june, august, girl, sometimes, star, kiss, father, beautiful, green, wind, dark, night, light, friend
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Comments about this poem (Novel
by
Arthur Rimbaud
) |
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Mel Vincent Basconcillo (5/4/2009 1:51:00 AM)
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Arthur Rimbaud at his finest..truly amazing poem! one of my favorites!
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Dimitris(Jimmy) Psachos (6/16/2007 12:26:00 PM)
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The eternal youth...loses his power due to the lack of his masterpieces.Need more 'Illuminations', Novel's only a part of his poetic majesty....
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Bret R. Crabrooke (4/27/2007 8:51:00 PM)
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This is a great translation of Novel- I'm in love with the poem- It comes from Rimbaud Complete, which, as it says, has all of Rimbaud's poems. Worth checking out.
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Jay Spence (3/4/2007 11:54:00 AM)
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I agree. Rimbaud is by far my favorite.
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Xing A. (11/12/2006 9:53:00 AM)
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Yes we need more of Rimbaud!
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Mary X (9/2/2006 7:27:00 AM)
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Agreed! Its so shocking... Need more..
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Brian Routh (11/27/2005 11:15:00 AM)
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i find it to be really odd that this is the only poem by such a major french poet that is available on this site!
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Read all
7
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