The Mystery about Why
Rimbaud Abandoned Poetry
Was Explained from the Start
“Prophetically, Rimbaud was born in his parents’ apartment
above a bookshop.” ~ Edmund White
Huh? What exactly did that prophesy?
That he would run a bookshop or would own
One? Keep accounts and keep a sky blue eye
On shoplifters, do stock lists and be prone
To stare into space. Perhaps he would shirk
His hours away among the books and be
No more than bearable, a surly clerk.
Apartment? Possibly the prophecy
Could mean he’d deal in real estate, a guy
Who’d help the bourgeoisie to find the place
That suitable property to imply
Conformity to taste like Brussels lace.
The place of his birth was so unstunning
That that boringness implied gun running.