Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE GULF, by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE 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! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...JASON THE REAL by TONY HOAGLAND APPEARANCE AND REALITY by JOHN HOLLANDER A WORKING PRINCIPLE by DAVID IGNATOW THE REVOLUTIONARY by JOSEPHINE JACOBSEN REAL AND HALF REAL by ROBINSON JEFFERS A VOYAGE TO CYTHERA by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE |
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