"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom. I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients." Gustave Courbet

20 October 2016

Happy birthday, Rimbaud.


Arthur Rimbaud was born on this day in 1854.

A taste of ashes flies through the air; -- an odor of sweating wood on the hearth, -- dew-ret flowers, -- devastation along the promenades, -- the mist of the canals over the fields -- why not incense and toys already?

I have stretched ropes from steeple to steeple; garlands from window to window; golden chains from star to star, and I dance.

The upland pond smokes continuously. What witch will rise against the white west sky? What violet frondescence fall?

While public funds evaporate in feasts of fraternity, a bell of rosy fire rings in the clouds.

Reviving a pleasant taste of India ink, a black powder rains on my vigil. I lower the jets of the chandelier, I throw myself on my bed, and turning my face towards the darkness, I see you, my daughters! My queens!

Arthur Rimbaud

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