The Mind

To a Creolean Lady

by Charles Baudelaire 1821–1867

Translated by Cyril Scott (1909) · From Les Fleurs du Mal (1857)

The Mind

In a country perfumed with the sun's embrace,
I knew 'neath a dais of purpled palms,
And branches where idleness weeps o'er one's face,
A Creolean lady of unknown charms.

Her tint, pale and warm--this bewitching bride,
Displays a nobly nurtured mien,
Courageous and grand like a huntsman, her stride;
A tranquil smile and eyes serene.

If, madam, you'd go to the true land of gain,
By the banks of the verdant Loire or the Seine,
How worthy to garnish some pile of renown.

You'd awake in the calm of some shadowy nest,
A thousand songs in the poet's breast,
That your eyes would inspire far more than your brown.

MLA

Baudelaire, Charles. “To a Creolean Lady.” Translated by Cyril Scott. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/baudelaire/30/.

Chicago

Baudelaire, Charles. “To a Creolean Lady.” Translated by Cyril Scott. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/baudelaire/30/.

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