On, through the necropolis;
Grave or crypt or tomb?
Varied form once chosen - housed
for the time to come;
they watched while I just browsed?
Some were proudly looking down
others just a name
in slate a stone cobbled town
long ago found fame
had completed the game.
Dank, shady, dark and sombre
sunshine just can't reach
thick clouds of flies in number
swipe, swat try to cheat.
But can a dead man speak?
Stumbled on then one by one
David... Dumas... Wilde,
a pale pink sphinx erection
à la mode - in style?
It will stand yet awhile!
Surely any sort of clue
just a sign or word?
'Outcasts mourn' - that is so true
lines once penned in gaol
a sad, sorrowful tale.
Few words writ as fine and rare;
prompted by that vault
perfumed color everywhere;
much is oft' forgot
his faultless verse is not.
Cimetière Père Lachaise Paris
April 2007
A wonderful poem this one Gillian Oscar Wilde himself would have been proud of you at the writing of such a poem
Delightful, colorful, full of surprises. Most have been quite a thrill walking through this cemetery and conjuring up all kinds of memories and imaginative adventures. Certainly a wonderful way to experience the past - even just to gaze upon their names.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
You convey such a clear image of the place here, in this poem that has feeling and elegance, like Wilde's.