Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SEA BREEZE, by STEPHANE MALLARME



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SEA BREEZE, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: The flesh is sad, alas! And I have read all the books
Last Line: Still, o my heart, listen to the sailors' song!


The flesh is sad, alas! and I have read all the books.
To flee! to flee far away! Where birds must be drunk
To be amidst the unknown spray and the skies!
Nothing, not old gardens mirrored in eyes
Will keep back this heart drenched in the sea,
O nights! nor the desolate light of my lamp
On the empty paper sheathed in its whiteness,
And neither the young wife nursing her child.
I shall leave! Steamer with your masts swaying,
Lift anchor for exotic climes!

An ennui, racked of cruel hopes,
Yet believes in the last farewell of handkerchiefs!
And, it may be, the masts, inviting storms,
Will be theirs a wind twists over shipwrecks
Lost, without masts, without masts, or fertile shores . . .
Still, O my heart, listen to the sailors' song!





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