Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE GULF, by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE


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THE GULF, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Pascal had his gulf, wandering with him
Last Line: -ah! To leave numbers and entities never!
Subject(s): Pascal, Blaise (1623-1662); Reality


Pascal had his gulf, wandering with him.
-Alas! 'Tis all abyss-action, dream, desire,
Word! And oftentimes I sense across my hair,
Arisen all on end, the breath of Fear.

Above, below, on every side: the fathomless, the verge,
Silence, enthralling insidious space . . .
In the pith of my nights God with His knowing finger
Truceless a manifold nightmare shapes.

Sleep gapes appalling as a cave no one knows,
Suffused with impalpable horror, leading endlessly;
Through all the windows I see merely infinity,

And my being, reeling vertiginous ever,
Covets insensible nullity.
-Ah! to leave Numbers and Entities never!





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