I grew abashed . . .

After Baudelaire’s “L’invitation au Voyage”

“Étpulov te emlac, exul.”—Erialeduab

To love at leisure,

Lust and then depart.

Rejoice in mindless pleasure,

Praise his words today:

Luxe, calme et volupté,

These are the things to treasure,

And without dismay,

Feast the fleeting fair

In counterclockwise measure.

“Theer's nowt so queer as folk[s].”*

Common sense is rare!

 “Abaisit I wolx,

and widdersyns start my hair.Ӡ

Portrait of Charles Baudelaire by Charles Neyt (1864)

*Yorkshire / Lancashire proverbial saying.

†“I grew abashed, my hair standing on end.”—Gavin Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, Scotland, trans. of Virgil’s Æneid (1513).

December 6, 2024