I Cannot be Known

Paul Eluard 1895 (Saint-Denis) – 1952 (Charenton-le-Pont)



I cannot be known
Better than you know me

Your eyes in which we sleep
We together
Have made for my man's gleam
A better fate than for the common nights

Your eyes in which I travel
Have given to signs along the roads
A meaning alien to the earth

In your eyes who reveal to us
Our endless solitude

Are no longer what they thought themselves to be

You cannot be known
Better than I know you.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

24 sec read
425

Quick analysis:

Scheme AB XXXX XXX XX B AX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 388
Words 80
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 2, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2

Paul Eluard

Paul Éluard, born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel, was a French poet who was one of the founders of the surrealist movement. more…

All Paul Eluard poems | Paul Eluard Books

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