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LE GUIGNON by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: TO BEAR UP UNDER SUCH A LOAD
Last Line: UNKNOWN IN SOLITARY GROUND.

To bear up under such a load,
ah Sisyphus, I need your heart:
for though the will apply its goad
yet Art is long, and Time is short.

Far from the tombs of wealth and fame,
to a graveyard that lies apart
goes, like a muffled drum, my heart
beating a dead march without name.

How many gems lie buried deep
in darkness . . . in oblivion sleep
far from a pick or plummet's sound!

How many flowers to sorrow bloom ...
pour, like a secret, sweet perfume
unknown in solitary ground.



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