| VOYELLES | VOWELS |
| Arthur Rimbaud | trans. Norman Cameron |
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| A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu: voyelles, | A black, E white, I red, U green, O blue - I'll tell |
| Je dirai quelque jour vos naissances latentes: | One day, you vowels, how you come to be and whence. |
| A, noir corset velu des mouches éclatantes | A, black, the glittering of flies that form a dense, |
| Qui bombinent autour des puanteurs cruelles, | Velvety corset round some foul and cruel smell, |
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| Golfes d'ombre; E, candeurs des vapeurs et des tentes, | Gulf of dark shadow; E, the glaciers' insolence, |
| Lances des glaciers fiers, rois blancs, frissons d'ombelles; | Steams, tents, white kings, the quiver of a flowery bell; |
| I, pourpres, sang craché, rire des lèvres belles | I, crimsons, blood expectorated, laughs that well |
| Dans la colère ou les ivresses pénitentes; | From lovely lips in wrath or drunken penitence; |
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| U, cycles, vibrements divins des mers virides, | U, cycles, the divine vibrations of the seas, |
| Paix des pâtis semés d'animaux, paix des rides | Peace of herd-dotted pastures or the wrinkled ease |
| Que l'alchimie imprime aux grands fronts studieux; | That alchemy imprints upon the scholar's brow; |
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| O, suprême Clairon plein des strideurs étranges, | O, the last trumpet, loud with strangely strident brass, |
| Silences traversés des Mondes et des Anges: | The silences through which the Worlds and Angels pass: |
| - O l'Oméga, rayon violet de Ses Yeux! | - O stands for Omega, His Eyes' deep violet glow! |
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