A gentle poem dedicated to a dead young girl. The poet covers her with various flowers, then gives her a last kiss. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Requiem, by Ernest Dowson
La belle du premier mai
La magie ne dure qu’un temps, et l’aimée s’efface au loin. Vient alors le chagrin, mais il restera toujours la certitude d’un autre monde, resplendissant de liberté et de sensualité. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Alabama Song
The poem “Alabama Song” (also known as “Moon of Alabama,” “Moon over Alabama,” or “Whisky Bar”) was first written in German by Bertolt Brecht, then translated into English by Elisabeth Hauptmann in 1925. Kurt Weill set it to music for the 1927 musical play Mahagonny-Songspiel. The song was finally included in their 1930 opera Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny). It is sung in Act I by alcoholic prostitutes, they are craving first for a ‘whiskey bar,’ then for a ‘little boy’ (in the 1930’s, this designated a bottle format), and finally for a ‘little dollar:’ CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Fleurs déchaînées
L’amour est vierge, surtout après avoir fait l’amour. D’où l’on voit l’inanité des efforts frénétiques pour empêcher les enfants d’en faire l’expérience, sous prétexte qu’ils seraient innocents : car l’amour représente la chose la plus innocente qui soit. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Ere I go Hence, by Ernest Dowson
At the point of death, holding a child’s hand, watching her beautiful face, and listening to her footsteps is the poet’s last consolation. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
La nuit des monstres
Depuis deux ans et demi, la poésie de l’amour anime ce blog tué puis ressuscité, entouré de puissantes forces hostiles, mais soutenu par des amis dénués de pouvoir, souvent cachés. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Marvellous freedom
After two years and a half, Poets and Lovers is alive and going on, surrounded by hostile forces. It survived the persecution of its first website provider by the UK police, which finally led to closing down the websites that he hosted. We have now a new provider, aiming to host several art websites suffering from censorship, starting with those suppressed in the UK: Poets and Lovers, Pigtails in Paint, and the sites of Graham Ovenden and of Garage Press. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Little Girl, by Little Girl
MoonCCat is the pen name of Luc-Santiago Rodriguez, a poet, musician and photographer who finds his inspiration in the 19th century. He puts into music poems by 19th century French and English poets, defends the classical French alexandrine against contemporary “free verse,” and practices argentic photography instead of digital one. He is also a specialist in absinthe, the beverage celebrated by 19th century poets and artists, which was banned during most of the 20th century; at one time he managed an absinthe shop in Paris, Vert d’Absinthe. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Fleur de Feu
Rivières enflammées ! Désirs dévastateurs ! Torrents d’amour fou ! Ne pouvez-vous pas comme l’eau apaiser les brûlures et la soif ? Ne portez-vous aucune consolation ? Car voici que vient la menace… CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Rondel, by Ernest Dowson
A charming poem about the love of a child. To admire her blue eyes is the poet’s bliss, to take her hands is the desire of his heart, and, as he repeats three times, her kiss will heal his pains. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…