Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DUSK; TO MADEMOISELLE MARIE LAURENCIN, by GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DUSK; TO MADEMOISELLE MARIE LAURENCIN, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: Brushed by the shadows of the dead
Last Line: Of harlequin the trismegist
Alternate Author Name(s): Kostrowitzky, Wilhelm Apollina
Subject(s): Clowns; Evening; Sunset; Twilight


Brushed by the shadows of the dead
On grass where failing daylight falls
The lady harlequin's stripped bare
Admiring herself in a still pool

A twilight juggler a charlatan
Boasts tricks that he knows how to play
Pale as milk the studding stars
Stand in the tall uncolored air

Harlequin pallid on his small stage
Greets the audience first of all
Bohemian sorcerers a train
Of fairies and prestidigitals

Reaching up to unhook a star
He whirls it round with outstretched arm
While cymbals mark a measured beat
Hanging from a hanged man's feet

The sightless one croons to a child
The hind and her troop of fawns pass by
The dwarf sulks at the growing thrust
Of Harlequin the Trismegist





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