The End of the Day

Charles Baudelaire 1821 (Paris) – 1867 (Paris)



In all its raucous impudence
Life writhes, cavorts in pallid light,
With little cause or consequence;
And when, with darkling skies, the night

Casts over all its sensuous balm,
Quells hunger's pangs and, in like wise,
Quells shame beneath its pall of calm,
"Aha, at last!" the Poet sighs.

"My mind, my bones, yearn, clamoring
For sweet repose unburdening.
Heart full of dire, funeral thought,

I will lie out; your folds will cling
About me: veils of shadow wrought,
O darkness, cool and comforting!"

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

26 sec read
148

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CACA DDE DED
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 494
Words 88
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3

Charles Baudelaire

Charles Pierre Baudelaire was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. more…

All Charles Baudelaire poems | Charles Baudelaire Books

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