A Found Sonnet: Blue and Black Gemstones
“I cannot accept this death. It’s been some
Years now since we’ve seen each other. Rimbaud,
Though, Arthur’s art and face, still shine out from
The back of my dark brain. Rimbaud is a low,
Bright sun which burns inside me, that does not
Want darkness snuffed out of my mind. That’s why
I dream of Rimbaud every night. No blot
Will rub him out. I can’t forget his bi-
Sapphiric eyes, their double blues.” That’s how
Paul’s friend in later years wrote down the pain.
I’ve hardly had to change words or endow
Them with slightest extra meaning. Their plain
Agony showed Verlaine couldn’t be wise
Behind what were his “black diamond eyes.”