Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LE SACRE-COEUR, by CHARLOTTE MEW


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LE SACRE-COEUR, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: It is dark up here on the heights
Subject(s): Paris, France; Travel


It is dark up here on the heights,
Between the dome and the stars it is quiet too,
While down there under the crowded lights
āàFlares the importunate face of you,
Dear Paris of the hot white hands, the scarlet lips, the scented hair,
āàUne jolie fille à vendre, très cher;
āàA thing of gaiety, a thing of sorrow,
āàBought to-night, possessed, and tossed
āàBack to the mart again to-morrow,
āàWorth and over, what you cost;
While half your charm is that you are
Withal, like some unpurchasable star,
āàSo old, so young and infinite and lost.


It is dark on the dome-capped hill,
āàSerenely dark, divinely still,
Yet here is the Man who bought you first
āàDying of his immortal smart,
Your Lover, the King with the broken heart,
āàWho while you, feasting, drink your fill,
āàPass round the cup
āàNot looking up,
Calls down to you, "I thirst."


A king with a broken heart! Mon Dieu!
āàOne breaks so many, cela peut se croire,
To remember all c'est la mer à boire,
āàAnd the first, mais comme c'est vieux.
Perhaps there is still some keepsake-or
āàOne has possibly sold it for a song:
On ne peut pas toujours pleurer les morts,
āàAnd this One-He has been dead so long!"








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