Carmen

(after Théophile Gautier)

Carmen is sleek and slender, with a trace 
of gypsy swarthiness around her eyes. 
That sinister black hair engulfs her face. 
There's something hellish in those slick brown thighs. 

When women look at her, they call her plain, 
but men surrender reason. Elle divirilise. 
The Bishop of Toledo, now, is saying 
a Mass for Carmen on stiff, painful knees. 

About her amber neck a heavy twine 
of thick, black hair coils downward, and it serves, 
when she is in her alcove, nude, reclined, 
as her voluptuous scarf, enhancing curves. 

From that unblemished marble face explodes 
the crimson-painted grin of a heartless winner. 
behind one ear, her fleshy scarlet rose 
has sucked the sap from souls of hopeless sinners. 

With that bewitching shape, the morenita 
outstrips with ease the pale society beauties. 
Internal cruel geysers easily heat her 
dark eyes, which force the fallen back to duty. 

She has, within that vulgar, cheap allure 
some acrid grains, some venomous sharp flecks 
from Aphrodite's sea, from which The Whore 
once squirmed, to castrate us all with sex.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

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April 1, 2017 at 2:23 AM
Forgot to say I LOVE the inventive "morenita" for "moricaude". It's so.... exact! Wish I had a better word
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April 1, 2017 at 12:05 AM
Man.... if I were straight, oh la la! That is one juicy great translation, honestly, it preserves that sexiness of the original in a GREAT manner. I love what you did to the archbishop of Toledo :) Plus you preserved the original rhyme. I LOVE it Michael!
Coy Avatar
April 1, 2017 at 2:46 AM
LOL You're too kind. And thank you for the "morenita" comment.
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