Sure thing, when the blood scalds the veins, kids and marriage are nothing but shackles. 😉 If Verlaine would have seen this sooner he would have spared a lot of suffering, his and others’
He needed to be drunk to know he should never be married or have children? Was being drunk when he saw how messed up he really was? Being drunk turned him into a fawn,a plantain and a peacock? What was he after he sobered up?
In the words of Stefan Zweig: "In middle life he found the courage, or rather an impulse within him mightier than his will forced him to do so, and with relentless tread he left civilization. He exchanged the warm cover of an established literary reputation for the occasional shelter along the highways. With the smoke of his pipe he blew into the air the esteem he had acquired early. He never returned to the safe harbor."
Fine poem .... Irving Layton was a big influence on Leonard Cohen; Paul Verlaine had a big influence on music ... everything connects
Sure thing, when the blood scalds the veins, kids and marriage are nothing but shackles. 😉 If Verlaine would have seen this sooner he would have spared a lot of suffering, his and others’
Life is a bitch. So much weight to carry, but if you refuse, you, unless rich or very lucky, will probably end up alone.
He needed to be drunk to know he should never be married or have children? Was being drunk when he saw how messed up he really was? Being drunk turned him into a fawn,a plantain and a peacock? What was he after he sobered up?
In the words of Stefan Zweig: "In middle life he found the courage, or rather an impulse within him mightier than his will forced him to do so, and with relentless tread he left civilization. He exchanged the warm cover of an established literary reputation for the occasional shelter along the highways. With the smoke of his pipe he blew into the air the esteem he had acquired early. He never returned to the safe harbor."
You missed it
It's the old "life is elsewhere" feeling. Life might be better elsewhere, or worse, but you have to live it and learn some ways of joy.
What did I miss?
It's poetry.
Your focus is on his lifestyle. Stop judging, move on, and enjoy the now.