"No water so still as the
dead fountains of Versailles." No swan,
with swart blind look askance
and gondoliering legs, so fine
as the chinz china one with fawn-
brown eyes and toothed gold
collar on to show whose bird it was.
Lodged in the Louis Fifteenth
candelabrum-tree of cockscomb-
tinted buttons, dahlias,
sea-urchins, and everlastings,
it perches on the branching foam
of polished sculptured
flowers--at ease and tall. The king is dead.
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Comments2The imagery really gripped me. It painted a vivid yet somber picture, melding the natural with ornate artistry.
Wow, intresting read. The contrast between alive and dead as well as natural and man made is pretty powerful. "dead fountains of Versailles" really stuck with me, prolly just representative of a greater decay within the royality of the time. The use of things like china swan and gold collar kinda highlight the extravagant life of the rich during that time. Kinda sharp and biting to me. Real thought provoking stuff.