The Rainy Day

The Rainy Day

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1807 – 1882

The Rainy Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

For a Creole Lady

For a Creole Lady

by Charles Baudelaire
1821 – 1867

 

Off in a perfumed land bathed gently by the sun,
Under a palm tree’s shade tinged with a crimson trace,
A place where indolence drops on the eyes like rain,
I met a Creole lady of unstudied grace.

Charles Baudelaire - For a Creole Lady
Charles Baudelaire

 

This brown enchantress’ skin is warm and light in tone;
Her neck is noble, proud, her manner dignified;
Slender and tall, she goes with huntress’ easy stride;
Her smile is tranquil, and her eyes are confident.

Madame, if you should come to place of pride and praise
Beside the green Loire, or by the pleasant Seine,
Adorning ancient mansions with your stately ways

There in the shelter of the shady groves, you’d start
A thousand sonnets blooming in the poets’ hearts,
Whom your great eyes would turn to sycophants and slaves.