Chioma Ebinama, Leopard Woman (Snatched) (detail), 2019
watercolor and sumi ink on handmade Indian cotton rag paper, 22 × 30 inches
image courtesy of Catinca Tabacaru Gallery
DOG AND FLASK
Charles Baudelaire
translated by David Lehman
My beautiful dog, my prize pooch, my handsome hound, come here and get a whiff of this excellent perfume I bought from the finest perfumer in all of Paris.
And my dog, wagging his tail—which is (I believe) the canine equivalent of a laugh or a smile—came close and inspected the uncorked flask with his nose moist with curiosity. Suddenly, recoiling in fright, he barks at me in reproach.
—Ah, miserable dog, if I had offered you a plate of turds you would have sniffed it with delight and maybe even eaten it. Worthless companion of my sad life that you are, you thus resemble the public which, indifferent to fragrances divine, will reject them in favor of choice crap every time.
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) was a Parisian poet best known for his volume of poems, Les Fleurs du Mal.
David Lehman’s recent books include One Hundred Autobiographies: A Memoir (Cornell University Press) and Playlist: A Poem (University of Pittsburgh Press).