The Vowels
The Vowels
Original Text
Contemporary French Poetry, trans. Jethro Bithell (London and Felling-on-Tyne; Walter Scott, 1912. 140-41. Internet Archive.
1Ye vowels, A black, E white, I red, U green, O blue,
2I will reveal your latent births one of these days.
3A, of big burnished flies the ebon hairy stays
4Buzzing o'er cruel stenches, gulfs of shade; E, hue
5Of tents and vapours, lance of proud glaciers, rajahs who
6In linen glitter, umbel shiverings; I, displays
7Of purples, laugh of lovely lips where angers blaze,
8Expectorated blood, excesses steeped in rue.
9U, the divine vibration of green seas,
10Æons, the peace of cattle-studded leas,
11Lines drawn by alchemy on studious foreheads wise.
12O, supreme clarion full of strident noises strange,
13Silences where worlds and angels range,
14O, the Omega, and the violet ray of His eyes!
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
Data entry: Sharine Leung
RPO Edition
2012
Rhyme
Form