I have dreamed of you so much

by Robert Desnos



I have dreamed of you so much that you are no longer real.
Is there still time for me to reach your breathing body, to kiss your mouth and make
your dear voice come alive again?

I have dreamed of you so much that my arms, grown used to being crossed on my
chest as I hugged your shadow, would perhaps not bend to the shape of yor body
For faced with the real form of what has haunted me and governed me for so many
days and years, I would surely become a shadow.
O scales of feeling.

I have dreamed of you so much that surely there is no more time for me to wake up.
I sleep on my feet prey to all the forms of life and love, and you, the only one who counts for me today, I can no more touch your face and lips than touch the lips and
face of some passerby.

I have dreamed of you so much, have walked so much, talked so much, slept so much
with your phantom, that perhaps the only thing left for me is to become a phantom
among phantoms, a shadow a hundred times more shadow than the shadow that
moves and goes on moving, brightly, over the sundial of your life.

8 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorites. Such a beautiful poem and so lovely in your voice. Thanks for posting this one.

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  2. That is just beautiful, and beautifully read. I have never been one to seek out and read poetry. thank for bringing the beauty of poetry to my world and allowing my brain to stop it's jumbled confusion for a few happy moments.

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  3. I wasn't familiar with this poem - it is lovely, and made even better by being ready by you! Kudos!

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  4. A beautiful poem I haven't known before - thank you for bringing more poetry into my life. I wasn't much interested in poetry before I rediscovered BatB about 2 years ago - but now I like poems, I like your selection of poems and you read them so beautifully. Thank You.

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  5. Andrea and Cyndi,
    I am very happy to contribute to that discovery of poetry in some way. It's a beautiful thing, and can take us places we'ver imagined... especially places within us. Thanks for liking the reading!

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  6. I wasn't familiared with it either when it was suggested for last WFOL's Poem of the Day section. So fitting for Catherine and Vincent!

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  7. Thank you, Sandy. EMU has this awesome lab with all these accessibility guismos... so I'll have easier access to braille-printed material to read! The way I currently transcribe things take forever. One more thing to get excited about the upcoming experience!

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  8. Beautiful words from a beautiful person. Love it!!

    Deb

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