Black A, white E, red I, green U, blue O: you vowels,
Some day I'll tell the tale of where your mystery lies:
Black A, a jacket sewn from hairy, shiny flies
Which buzz among harsh stinks in the abyss's bowels;
White E, the white of kings, of moon-washed fogs and tents,
of fields of shivering chervil, glaciers' gleaming tips;
Red I, the shade of spat-up blood, the curl of lips
In laughter, anger, or besotted penitence;
Green U, vibrating waves in viridescent seas
Or verdant pastures flecked with beasts -- furrows of peace
Imprinted on our brows as if by alchemies;
Blue O, great Trumpet blaring strange and piercing cries
Through Silences where Worlds and Angels pass crosswise;
Omega, O, the violet brilliance of Her Eyes!
---
Arthur Rimbaud
translated by George Dance
Black A, white E, red I, green U, blue O: you vowels,
Some day I'll tell the tale of where your mystery lies:
Black A, a jacket formed of hairy, shiny flies
That buzz among harsh stinks in the abyss's bowels;
White E, the white of kings, of moon-washed fogs and tents,
of fields of shivering chervil, glaciers' gleaming tips;
Red I, the shade of spat-up blood, the curl of lips
In laughter, anger, or besotted penitence;
Green U, vibrating waves in viridescent seas
Or peaceful pastures flecked with beasts -- furrows of peace
Imprinted on our brows as if by alchemies;
Blue O, great Trumpet blaring strange and piercing cries
Through Silences where Worlds and Angels pass crosswise;
Omega, O, the violet brilliance of Their Eyes!