Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LA BEAUTE, by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE


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LA BEAUTE, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Fair am I, mortals, as a stone-carved dream
Last Line: Are crystal mirrors of eternity.


FAIR am I, mortals, as a stone-carved dream,
And all men wound themselves against my breast,
The poet's last desire, the loveliest.
Voiceless, eternal as the world I seem,
In the blue air, strange sphinx, I brood supreme
With heart of snow whiter than swan's white crest,
No movement mars the plastic line—I rest
With lips untaught to laugh or eyes to stream.

Singers who see, in trancèd interludes,
My splendor set with all superb design,
Consume their days, in toilful ecstasy.
To these revealed, the starry amplitudes
Of my great eyes which make all things divine
Are crystal mirrors of eternity.





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