Destruction ( poem )
Image Source | Photo Owner | Image License CC0
Destruction
BY CHARLES BAUDELAIRE | TRANSLATED BY C. F. MACINTYRE
At my side the Demon writhes forever,
Swimming around me like impalpable air;
As I breathe, he burns my lungs like fever
And fills me with an eternal guilty desire.
Knowing my love of Art, he snares my senses,
Apearing in woman's most seductive forms,
And, under the sneak's plausible pretenses,
Lips grow accustomed to his lewd love-charms.
He leads me thus, far from the sight of God,
Panting and broken with fatigue into
The wilderness of Ennui, deserted and broad,
And into my bewildered eyes he throws
Visions of festering wounds and filthy clothes,
And all Destruction's bloody retinue.
Commentary
Alas, a dark toned poem I found. With religious implications. This is the least of my favorite poem topics but the charm of this poem leads me to post it. Its about an unnamed demon using all kinds of manners in seducing the author and in the authors words no resistance is shown nor his decision to refuse are shown. Just descriptions on the manner the devil beguiles him.
Another match of a great picture to a gem of a poem.Truth be told, as I spend hours on end to find Poems that I'd like to reintroduce to the world though not a hard thing to do, it certainly is time consuming. But the delights I tell you.
Disclaimer
I own no rights to the poem nor the picture and have stated my sources.
Please support the arts, especially poetry as I fear it may be a dying breed in our culture.
-Sir. Picsalot