Charles Baudelaire’s lines on perishable beauty, on the 154th anniversary of his death
But remember: you too, exuding contagion, will lie a rotting corpse, you, sun of my eyes, my living star, you, radiant seraph.
You too, my beauty, you too will be touched by decay,
And you will rot down to the bones,
Dressed in flowers to the sound of mournful prayers,
Prey of the guests of the grave.
Literal translation
Tell the worms, when they begin, with kisses,
To devour you in the damp darkness,
That the form and the immortal order
Of your decaying beauty I have kept for ever.
Literal translation
Every time a pretty girl in a short summer dress walks past the concierge, these lines acquire a new life. So their author, Charles Baudelaire, may be considered immortal. 31 August 2021 is the 154th anniversary of the death of the French poet
