Poems & One Letter by Arthur Rimbaud
Melancholy Hyperimagism, after Belmontet
Arthur Rimbaud
What then is this mystery, impenetrable and dark?
Why, without displaying its dark white sail
is any royal young skiff rigged?
Let's reverse the grief of our tears—
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Love wants to live at the expense of its sister
Friendship lives at the expense of its brother
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The scepter which is hardly revered
is only the cross of a great shrine
atop the volcano of nations!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oh! Honor was dripping upon your manly mustache.
Translated by Mark Spitzer