Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FOR BERENICE, by PIERRE BENOIT


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FOR BERENICE, by                    
First Line: Berenice, your sister, the edomite queen
Last Line: Resembles the marshes of tyre and of sidon.
Subject(s): Courts & Courtiers; Sisters; Twins; Royal Court Life; Royalty; Kings; Queens


Berenice, your sister, the Edomite queen,
I thought I saw her stroll in your garden tonight.
How tranquil she has grown, and how serene,
Since she has learned to bear her days upright.

Henceforth you will be as two twin sisters here,
Palace of black marble, villa of burnished wood;
The things that set you apart will disappear,
Existence, Time, and Space be your one hood.

She the illustrious queen, and you the courtesan
The pale child yielding under the heart's weight,
You have both journeyed in one caravan,
And with the same tears have borne a single fate.

Here now you two are calm, though life be harsh,
With your renouncements, lest the ways widen;
And therefore, here at Aigues-Mortes, the marsh
Resembles the marshes of Tyre and of Sidon.





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