The Life Before

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

I have long dwelt beneath vast porticoes
That the sea suns tinged with a thousand fires
And whose great pillars, straight and majestic,
Made them, at evening, like basaltic grottoes.

The surges, rolling the images of the heavens,
Mingled in a solemn and mystic way
The all-powerful chords of their rich music
With the colors of sunset reflected by my eyes.

It is there that I lived in calm voluptuousness,
In the midst of azure, waves, splendors
And naked slaves, all steeped in fragrances,

Who refreshed my brow with palm fronds,
And whose only care was to fathom
The sorrowful secret that made me languish.

Charles Baudelaire

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