Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SUNFLOWER, by ANDRE BRETON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SUNFLOWER, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: The traveller who crossed les halles at summer's end
Last Line: Andre breton he said may pass here
Subject(s): Paris, France; Sunflowers; Travel




The traveller who crossed Les Halles at summer's end
Tiptoed as she walked
Despair stirred in the sky its great lilies so lovely
And in her purse she had my dream that bottle of salts
That only God's godmother had breathed
Torpors were spreading like mists
At the Smoking Dog
The Pro and Con had just dropped in
And the young woman could be seen by them but badly and in profile
Was I dealing with the Ambassadress of saltpeter
Or of the white curve on a black background that we call thought
The Ball of the Innocents was in full swing
The lanterns were slowly catching fire in the chestnut trees
The shadowless girl knelt down on the Pont au Change
Rue Git-le-Coeur things no longer rang with the same note
The promises of the nights had at last been kept
The homing pigeons and the emergency kisses
Were clustering round the breasts of the lovely unknown girl
That stood out beneath the veil of perfect meaning
A farm was prospering in the heart of Paris
And its windows looked out on the Milky Way
But nobody lived in it because of the guests
The guests that are more faithful one knows than ghosts
Those like that woman seem to be swimming
And there is in love some of their substance
She makes them part of herself
I am the plaything of no sensory power
Yet the cricket that chirped in the locks of cinders
Close to the statue of Étienne Marcel
Gave me a look of intelligence
André Breton he said may pass here.






Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net