Dordrecht

By MARCEL PROUST

A baker in the square

Where nothing stirs but a pigeon

Reflections in an icy blue canal—

A great red mould,

A barge slipping forward, disturbing

A waterlily, sunlight

In the baker’s mirror flitting over a red currant

Tart,

Scaring hell out of a feasting fly.

At the end of the mass, here comes everybody—alleluia,

Holy Mother of Angels

Come, let’s take a boat ride on the canal

After a little nap.

 

–October, 1902

 

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) was a French writer, most famous for his seven-volume novel À la recherche du temps perdu (“In Search of Lost Time”). “Dordrecht” is taken from a new volume of his collected poetry, The Collected Poems of Marcel Proust,  (Penguin Classics), which is edited by Harold Augenbraum and  reviewed at The Huffington Post by The Common’s poetry editor, John Hennessy.

Photo by Marianne de Wit from Flickr Creative Commons

Dordrecht

Related Posts

Two Poems: Stella Wong

STELLA WONG
the Swedish red / and white dairy // cattle crossed the / red pied (now ex // -tinct) and ayrshire / (also all gone). // swaying fairy / red with cargo. // nation built, spent / in what was known // as mellanmjölk, / middle milk. one // and a half per / -cent.

Brace Cove

JOEANN HART
Gulls cried at one another as they tumbled through the air, then settled on the water like sitting hens, drifting on the swell. Night was coming, but while daylight lasted, seals hauled themselves up on the exposed rocks to luxuriate in the winter sun.

A golden object, shaped like a window with open shutters, sits atop a reddish wood table. The object is busy with delicate engravings: a cross; simple human forms, some adorning heart icons on their chests; water droplets; and palpitating lines. To the right is a container of prayer candles.

Genealogies

LILY LUCAS HODGES
It’s the gesticulating crowd that holds my attention. The sum of their frenetic energy, captured by a plethora of lines, almost frantic, all packed together from the left-most edge to the right. They demand your gaze. There are so many figures in the crowd, there were so many who lost their lives