Rimbaud in Camden
“an angel in exile” ~ Paul Verlaine
Imagine then an exiled angel. How
Would he appear, this creature, if he were
More real than metaphor? His lids would bow
Down over such blue eyes with eyelash fur
That azure would become ashamed to show
Itself in any other place except the sky
Above Jehovah’s throne in Heaven. Snow
Would never fall again before an eye
As sovereign as this one archangel. Cloud
Would be forbidden by the Christ to hold
Those irises unveiled. A poet proud
Of poetry would keep the color cold.
The wings, a cobalt blue, if they exist,
….Would shine like sapphires in a shrieking fist.