Rimbaud, Magyars, and the Perfect Number Seven
Research reveals that when the Magyars
Invaded Hungary, they counted up
Not quite to seven. And in Verlaine’s stars
Barely anything mattered but the cup
Arthur offered him to drink. Verlaine should
Undoubtedly have swallowed the whole lot,
Dregs, finest wine and quaffs matured in wood,
Reserving nothing Rimbaud’s gift had brought.
In Hungary one thousand years beyond
Magyar destruction, the noble lords
Bought Lizst a flashy sword to be his wand
Among the French beau monde in mannered hordes.
..Unlike these men who never knew Rimbaud,
….Dull Paul spurned Arthur’s vertex and its glow.