The Cunning Girl, Poem by Arthur Rimbaud

Poem by Arthur Rimbaud Collection PoetryThemes FoodPeriod 19th century

In the brown dining room, which was perfumed
With a smell of varnish and fruit, at my ease
I was picking up a dish of I know not what Belgian
Stew, and I was lolling in my immense chair.

While eating, I listened to the clock, – happy and still.
The kitchen opened with a puff of air,
– And the servant came in, I don’t know why,
Her kerchief half undone, cunningly coiffed

And, while she ran her little trembling finger
Over her cheek, a velvet peach of pink and white,
Making, with her childish lip, a pout,

She arranged the dishes, near me, to put me at ease;
– Then, just like that, – of course, to get a kiss, –
Very softly: “Just smell, I’ve caught ‘a’ cold on my cheek…”

Arthur Rimbaud

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