André Breton writes Mallarméan poems. 1914.

André Breton (1896.1966)

Autograph manuscript.

One page in quarto on graph paper.

Slnd [Circa 1914]

Precious manuscript of this early poem with Mallarméan overtones which would be published in 1919 in his collection Mont de Piété.

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Green gold…

Sculpted for the purposes of dreams. Jean Royère.

The ripe grapes are green gold, and so are my futile wishes

They are filled with such a gentle light that one is astonished.

The innocent delight of tying your hair

More beautiful, rivaling only the monotonous azure sky,

I think of you, worried about a cloak of power

Fairy-like chimera, at your feet on the earth,

A little sad perhaps, and rather rebellious

That which is entirely abandoned to the voluntary glacis.

Recklessly perjuring himself in his flowery promises,

Your neckline tapers, adorned with tendrils by the vine.

It seems, judging by your hands, that they embroider in color

A silk of foliage in which to melt, likewise.

I feel how distant you are from me, and that your eyes,

The azure sky, your shadowy jewels, and the dawn stars

They will die out, captive to the boring drone

That your dress whim would soon be on display.

For Ariane.

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Enamored with poetry and influenced by Mallarmé in the writing of his first verses, Breton quickly found himself torn between the modernity of Rimbaud and Apollinaire, whom he admired. As early as 1914, he sent a series of poems to the poet Jean Royère, editor of the journal La Phalange.