La Voix

I thought I'd post my favorite Baudelaire poem, which many of you probably already know, for Poetry Thursday (though I didn't link to the PT site)-- you inspired me, bug! This translation is by George Dillard, and is in my opinion the best I've read:


The Voice

My bassinet against the wall of books was thrust:
A gloomy Babel, where fiction, science, fabliau,
Everything, Latin ashes and Hellenic dust,
Mingled in chaos. When I was high as a folio,
Two voices spoke to me. The one, insidious, firm,
Was saying: “Earth is a most delicious cake. Be wise.
I can (and then your joy would have an endless term)
Give you an appetite of corresponding size.”
The other voice said, “Come! Come travel into dreams,
Far out, beyond the possible, beyond the known.”
That voice was like the wind along the shore, that seems
A music out of nowhere, into nowhere blown-
A crying phantom, to frighten yet to captivate.
And I replied: “I will, delightful voice!” Then fell
What one may call, alas, the special curse, the fate
That still pursues me. Always, behind the spectacle
Of this immense existence, in the unstarred abyss
I see, distinctly, extraordinary world on world,
And, ravished victim of my own clear-sightedness,
I go with stinging serpents round my ankles curled.
Since then, like the old prophets waiting for a sign,
I love most tenderly the desert and the sea;
I find a curious suavity in bitter wine,
I smile at the saddest moments, I weep amid gaiety;
I take facts for illusions—and often as not, with eyes
Fixed confidently on heaven, I fall into holes.
But the Voice speaks to me: “Guard, fool, thy dreams!
The wise
Have none so splendid as thou hast.” And the Voice
consoles.

Statements Containing Fundamental Character

Okay, I’ve decided since only ti knew a couple of these words, I should put up the definitions. And thanks for the contributions, Megan, Kiyotoe, FC and ti. I looked them up if I didn’t know the meaning & have added them to the list here.

Priapic- 1. Of, relating to, or resembling a phallus; phallic.
2. Relating to or overly concerned with masculinity.

Bifurcated- To divide into two parts or branches.

Paroxysm- 1. A sudden outburst of emotion or action: a paroxysm of laughter.
2. a. A sudden attack, recurrence, or intensification of a disease.
b. A spasm or fit; a convulsion.

Extirpate- 1. To pull up by the roots.
2. To destroy totally; exterminate. See Synonyms at abolish.

Troglodyte- a. A member of a fabulous or prehistoric race of people that lived in caves.
b. A person considered to be reclusive, reactionary, out of date, or brutish.

Ciliate- Having cilia:
1. A microscopic hairlike process extending from the surface of a cell or unicellular organism. Capable of rhythmical motion, it acts in unison with other such structures to bring about the movement of the cell or of the surrounding medium.
2. An eyelash.
3. Botany: One of the hairs along the margin or edge of a structure, such as a leaf, usually forming a fringe.

Clerihew- A humorous verse, usually consisting of two unmatched rhyming couplets,
about a person whose name generally serves as one of the rhymes.

Nimiety- Superfluity; excess.

Lateritious- from Latin latericius (made of brick): brick-red

Agamist- from Greek a(without) gamos(union): an unmarried person

Bibulous- 1. Given to or marked by the consumption of alcoholic drink: a bibulous fellow;
2. Very absorbent, as paper or soil.

Mome- A stupid, doltish person; blockhead, fool.

Tatterdemalion (Excellent word!)- A person wearing ragged or tattered clothing;
ragamuffin

Defenestration (got to love it)- An act of throwing someone or something out of a
window

Discursive- 1. Covering a wide field of subjects; rambling.
2. Proceeding to a conclusion through reason rather than intuition.

Heteronormativity (this wasn’t even in my dictionary, but on wikipedia):
the perceived reinforcement of certain beliefs by many social
institutions and policies.

Toper (ha!)- A chronic drinker.

***Dragon, yours were good, but I’m a painter (triptych) and a technician (lavaliere mics) who doesn’t like to equivocate. I just happened to know them all!

Dam/Words

Well, the dam hasn't actually broken, but there do seem to be a few cracks in the wall. There's a couple of drops trickling through here and there. These fissures speak of an impending wave that I'm ready to ride the crest of. I'm speaking in metaphor today, I'm all about the phrase.

And so I offer you up a myriad of interesting words to ponder, words I've taken down in print over the years because they interest me. I have yet to use any of these beauties myself, but it's good to know they are in my back pocket if I need them. Some, you may already know, some you may question their validity. I considered handing you definitions as well, but, then that would spoil all the fun.

Priapic

Bifurcated

Paroxysm

Extirpate

Troglodyte

Ciliate

Clerihew

Nimiety

Lateritious

Agamist

Bibulous

Mome

That's enough for now. What can you all add to the list?