The Starry Head – Sorrow of a Star, Poem by Guillaume Apollinaire

Poem by Guillaume Apollinaire Collection CalligrammesThemes WarPeriod 20th century

A beautiful Minerva is the child of my head
A star of blood crowns me forever
Reason is at the bottom and the sky is at the top
Of the head where for so long, Goddess, you armed yourself

That is why of my ills it was not the worst
This almost deadly hole that has become starry
But the secret misfortune that feeds my delirium
Is far greater than any soul has ever concealed

And I carry with me this burning suffering
As the glowworm holds its flaming body
As in the soldier’s heart France throbs
And as in the heart of the lily the fragrant pollen

Guillaume Apollinaire

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-the-starry-head-sorrow-of-a-star-guillaume-apollinaire/