A, green, the tint of absinthe dripping through
A wad of lawn clippings – E,
Chartreuse, colour that only monks can see –
I, cloudy violet with sparkling points of blue
Or paler, the fresh paint sheen of a car –
When new, easy to buy – old, hard to sell.
O, orange, the sound of a tolling bell
Travelling over town and factory, very far –
U, under clear water, underwear –
Your flight spoiled by lots of crying babies
Though all of Europe is reflected in your eyes.
You think you hear, as you brush your hair,
The howling of a kennel full of hounds with rabies.
A rainbow as you land; then a career surprise.
-- John Tranter
First published in the Times Literary Supplement, 2013. Pictured below is the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, who, as a teenager, invented the "vowel" poem with his sonnet "Voyelle," the text of which follows:
A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu: voyelles,
Je dirai quelque jour vos naissances latentes:
A, noir corset velu des mouches éclatantes
Qui bombinent autour des puanteurs cruelles,
Golfes d’ombre; E, candeurs des vapeurs et des tentes,
Lances des glaciers fiers, rois blancs, frissons d’ombelles;
I, pourpres, sang craché, rire des lèvres belles
Dans la colère ou les ivresses pénitentes;
U, cycles, vibrements divins des mers virides,
Paix des pâtis semés d’animaux, paix des rides
Que l’alchimie imprime aux grands fronts studieux;
O, suprême Clairon plein des strideurs étranges,
Silences traversés des [Mondes et des Anges]:
—O l’Oméga, rayon violet de [Ses] Yeux!
Ed note: Click here to see "Five Translations of Arthur Rimbaud's 'Voyelles'" by Christian Bök. Bök's "Vocables," an anagrammatic translation, is especially remarkable. -- DL
Bok.http://wagsrevue.com/Download/Issue_3/Voyelles.pdf
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