To Dahlia, by Paul Verlaine

To Dahlia

Lovely whore
With your hard black eyes
And your soft budding breasts   Shameless flower of the damned
Your aroma overwhelms my senses   I am driven to possess you
But you scarcely feel my flesh
I make no impression   Bland on your bewitching tongue, I have no taste   You exhale my desire like smoke
Incense sacrificed to your unyielding beauty

poems.one - Paul Verlaine

Paul Verlaine