Apollinaire: La Cravate et La Montre

(http://everything2.com/title/La+cravate+et+la+montre)

la cravate douloureuse que tu portes et qui t’orne, o civilisé, Ote-la si tu veux respirer.



Comme l’on s’amuse bien !

Tircis, la beauté de la vie

Passe la peur de mourir.

Mon coeur, les yeux, l’enfant, Agla, la main,

l’infini redressé par un fou philosophe

les Muses aux portes de ton corps

le bel inconnu

et le vers dantesque luisant et cadavérique.

les heures, semaine.

Il est moins 5 enfin.

Et tout sera fini.

We have here a calligramme (the typographical disposition of the text resembles the subject). The term was coined by Apollinaire (who coined also the surrealism).

First of all, read the uppercase letter of the tie, and going down, follow the words to the bottom left, then go back to tu veux bien. The clock is read in four parts, whatever the order. The themes are closely related, however. The rewinding dial in uppercase is one, the hands another, the twelve phrases immediately around the hands, and the arc around the right half of the clock. Voilà!


Here is an English version:

The tie and the watch.
The painful tie you are wearing oh civilised one,
take it off if you wish to breathe well
What fun we are having
Hours
my heart
eyes
the child
Agia
the hand
Tireis
week
the infinite propped by a mad philosopher
the Muses at the doors of your body
the stately stranger
and the shiny and cadaverous worm Background

(Apollinaire)