Reversibility, Poem by Charles Baudelaire

Poem by Charles Baudelaire Collection The Flowers of EvilThemes ReligionPeriod 19th century

Angel full of gladness, do you know the anguish,
The shame, the remorse, the sobs, the woes,
And the vague terrors of those dreadful nights
That press the heart like a paper that is crumpled?
Angel full of gladness, do you know the anguish?

Angel full of kindness, do you know hatred,
Fists clenched in the shadows and tears of gall,
When Vengeance sounds its infernal call,
And makes itself the captain of our powers?
Angel full of kindness, do you know hatred?

Angel full of health, do you know the Fevers,
That, along the great walls of the pallid hospice,
Like exiles, go with dragging step,
Seeking the rare sun and moving their lips?
Angel full of health, do you know the Fevers?

Angel full of beauty, do you know the wrinkles,
And the fear of growing old, and that hideous torment
Of reading the secret horror of devotion
In eyes where our greedy eyes long drank?
Angel full of beauty, do you know the wrinkles?

Angel full of happiness, of joy and light,
Dying David would have asked for health
From the emanations of your enchanted body;
But from you I implore, angel, only your prayers,
Angel full of happiness, of joy and light!

Charles Baudelaire

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-reversibility-charles-baudelaire/