To Louis B., Poem by Victor Hugo

Poem by Victor Hugo Collection Les Rayons et les OmbresPeriod 19th century

XXIX

TO LOUIS B.

O Louis! I was dreaming! — Bathed in serene shadow,
Evening was falling; fires glittered on the plain;
The vast waves cradled the halcyon’s nest;
I listened toward the sky, where every dawn begins,
Rising confusedly, an immense praise
From the two extremities of creation.

What God made small sang in its delirium
All that God makes great, and I saw smiling
The colossus at the atom and the star at the torch;
Nature seemed to have but one loving soul.
The mountain said: How charming the flower is!
The gnat said: How beautiful the ocean is!
April 5, 1840.

Victor Hugo

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