I Open My Stomach, a Bleeding Tomb

Poem by Théodore Agrippa D'Aubigné Period 16th century

I open my stomach, a bleeding tomb
Of buried woes. For God’s sake, turn your eyes,
Diane, and see at the bottom my heart split in two,
And my lungs engraved with a violent ardor,

See my foaming blood all blackened by the flame,
My bones dried by languors in a pitiable state
But consider also what you do not see,
The rest of the misfortunes that ransack my soul.

You burn me and in the furnace of my murderous flame
You warm your coldness: your delicate hands
Stoke my blaze and your inhuman eyes
Weep, not from pity, but flaming with anger.

At this devouring fire of your kindled wrath
Your swollen eye moans, you weep at my death,
But it is not my suffering that displeases you so greatly
Nothing softens your eyes but my bitter smoke.

At least after my end may your appeased soul
Burning the heart, the body, a host to your wrath,
Take upon my spirit a gentler torment,
Being of wrath in my life in one blow exhausted.

Théodore Agrippa d’Aubigné

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/poem-i-open-my-stomach-a-bleeding-tomb-theodore-agrippa-d-aubigne/