Revolt

Poem by Charles Cros Collection The Sandalwood CasketPeriod 19th century

Absurd and ridiculous from being so pink,
From being so white, from having hair
Blond, wavy, curled, from having eyes
So blue, sapphires too vain for their metempsychosis.

Absurd, since one cannot speak of it in prose,
Ridiculous, since one has never seen two such,
Except, perhaps, in cloudy keepsakes…
To surpass reality like that is mere posing.

It is even obsessive, since the green of the woods
Takes on an emerald tone impossible in painting
If it serves as background to this hair against nature.

And these whitenesses of skin sometimes cause
One to lose all respect for the whitenesses that classical
Rite admits: lilies, snow. It irritates me!

Charles Cros

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