...Stromae 1985 and Baudelaire 1821...

I would not make allusions to compare Stromae and Baudelaire other than their shared language. And, they are assuredly poets: urbane and passionate francophone.  Stromae (b. 1985) was born in Belgium to a Rwandan father and Flemish mother.  Baudelaire (1821-1867) is a Parisian, through and through.

Stromae achieved global attention with his Alors on danse single.  From their his Papaoutai and Formidable continued world wide interest.  In the proto-video for Formidable he wandered his native Belgium drunk, calling out to a woman he lost.  It was performance art, but when he performs the song, voice trembling, it is the essence of poetry.

Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil, was his acclaimed work of poetry.  Released in 1857 as a pastiche of other works, it grew more in infamy then in fame.  It was moderne.  He wrote of eroticism, he wrote of unabashed passion.  [I am reading through the New Direction's English translation from 1962.]  Examples of that eroticism are in XXXIII 'Lethe' or the surprisingly frank XXVI 'You'd Take to Bed the Whole World'.

Reading through dozens of poems today, I attempted to find something in the same key as Stromae's Formidable.  Baudelaire's Afternoon Song (LXI), is an explosion of passion and being love's slave:

'....I'm your worshipper at least; Perilous mad passion mine, Wild one, yet for me divine, You're the idol, I the priest!  By your hips your breasts are wooed, You fill cushions with delight, For they're ravished by the sight, Of your languid attitude.  Sometimes, seeking to assuage Your mysterious sombre rage, Pouring pain into my bliss, You will bite me as you kiss; From your mocking laugh I smart as you tear me, then I swoon When your gaze soft as the moon Falls upon my tortured heart."

'....Tu me dechires, ma brune, Avec un rire moqueur, Et puis tu mets sur mon coeur Ton oeil dous comme la lune.'

"Eh tu t'es regardé, tu t'crois beau
Parce que tu t'es marié,
Mais c'est qu'un anneau mec, t'emballes pas, 
Elle va t'larguer comme elles font chaque fois
Et puis l'autre fille tu lui en a parlé?
Si tu veux je lui dit comme ça c'est réglé
Et au p'tit aussi, enfin si vous en avez
Attends 3 ans, 7 ans et là vous verrez"

"Hey, take a look at yourself, think you're Mr Handsome
just because you got married?!
This is but a ring, man, don't get carried away,
she'll dump you like they always do,
now about the other girl, did you tell her?
I can tell her if you want, that will settle the matter,
and I'll tell the kid too, if you have children,
you just wait for 3 or 7 years, and then you'll see"
...

                  

  

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