Reactions to Poetry; p13

Clotilde

By Guillaume Apollinaire

Anemone and columbine
Where gloom has lain
Opened in gardens
Between love and disdain
Made somber by the sun
Our shadows meet
Until the sun
Is squandered by night
Gods of living water
Let down their hair
And now you must follow
A craving for shadows

So, I learned the Clotilde is actually the name of the daughter of King Clovis I of the Franks and Queen Clotilde. She was actually saddened by her father’s death in 511, I wonder if that’s what this is describing? The first stanza talking about how sad she is, walking through the gardens, using the word disdain because she hates that he is dead. The second stanza having her understanding the concept of death, that he’ll never come back. The third and final stanza… I think it talks about how she pray’s to the Gods and possibly how she wishes for death now, as well.

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