Sunflower by Andre Breton

SUNFLOWER
by Andre Breton (1896-1966)
translated by Mark Polizzolti

The traveler who crossed Les Halles(1.) at summer's end'
Walked on tiptoe
Despair rolled it's great handsome lilies across the sky
And in her handbag was my dream that flask of salts
That only God's godmother had breathed
Torpors unfurled like mist
At the Chien qui Fume(2.)
Where pro and con had just entered
They could hardly see the young woman and then only at an angle
Was I dealing with the ambassadress of saltpeter(3.)
Or with the white curve on black background we call thought
The Innocents' Ball(4.) was in full swing
The Chinese lanterns slowly caught fire in chestnut trees
The shadowless lady knelt on the Pont-au-Change(5.)
on Rue Git-le-Coeur(6.) the stamps had changed
The night's promises had been kept at last
The carrier pigeons and emergency kisses
Merged with the beautiful stranger's breasts
Jutting beneath the crepe of perfect meanings
A farm prospered in the heart of Paris
And its windows looked out on the Milky Way
But no one lived there yet because of the guests
Guests who are known to be more faithful than ghosts
Some like that woman appear to be swimming
And a bit of their substance becomes part of love
She internalizes them
I am the plaything of no sensory power
And yet the cricket who sang in hair of ash
One evening near the statue of Etienne Marcel
Threw me a knowing glance
Andre Breton it said pass.

Notes:
(1.)Les Halles was and is an area of Paris, France that is located in the 1er arrondissemont just south of the fashionable rue Montorgueil. It is name for the large central wholesale market place which was demolished in 1971 and this was no doubt the Les Halles of this poem. It was the traditional central market of Paris and was known as the "belly of Paris".

(2.) Chien qui Fume is a restaurant in Paris and it was founded in 1740. Its name translates to "Dog Smokes" and its web site has a dog with a smoking tobacco pipe in its mouth. It is considered a typical restaurant in Les Halles at the time.

(3.)Saltpeter: potassium nitrate used in the manufacture of gunpowder and fireworks.

(4.)Innocents Ball may be connected to the "Fountain of Nymphs" created by Jean Goujon on the occasion of the French King Henry II's entry into Paris in 1549. It might have been done with collaboration with Pierre Lescot. It is also called the Fountain of the Innocents. This information is from the book, "Mad Love" by the poet. He mentions the alchemist Nicholas Flemel who is famous for the "philosopher's stone" and who lived with his wife another alchemist. Flemel is also tied to this fountain or the area as well.

The Innocents Ball, according to the poet in his book "Mad Love" associates this ball to the Saint-Jacques Tower which stands today.

(5.) Pont au Change is a bridge over the Seine River in Paris, France.

(6.) Rue Git-le Coeur: a narrow medieval lane running down to the Sein from the rue St. Andre des Arts to the quai Augustine in the oldest part of the Latin Quarter. In the 13th century, the street was called rue de Gilles-le-Quez or Guy-le-Preux. Over the centuries this name transformed into Git-le-Coeur, which some claim is a pun on the street name made in the early 17th century by Henri IV, the first Bourbon King of France, whose mistress lived on the street: "Ici git mon coeur". Another story is found in "The Nichol's Guide To Paris". This claims that the street name commemorates the murder of Elienne Marcel, Provost of the Merchants and one of the fathers of Paris on July 31, 1358 by the Mercenary Jean Maillart in the pay of the Dauphin Charles. The word, 'git', means 'lies' as on a tombstone and the name Marcel does appear in this poem.


I like to chose a theme of the day and put it on my Google page and even on my Foxfire page and wall paper and try to coordinate them as much as possible. Somedays it works very well. Today, it is sunflowers. They remind me of the years I spent in Kansas where they grow abundantly and very beautifully. I found this poem by Andre Breton. I enjoyed looking up some of the things in the poem that I did not understand.