Artemis

<br>by Gerard Nerval<br>The Thirteenth returns... Once more she is the first;<br>And she is still the only one, or is this the only moment;<br>For you are surely queen, first and last?<br>For you are surely king, O first and last lover?...<br>Love the one who loves you from the cradle to the grave;<br>The one alone I love loves me dearly still:<br>She is death - or the dead one... Delight or torment!<br>And the rose she holds is the hollyhock.<br>Saint of Naples with your hands full of fire,<br>Mauve-hearted rose, flower of Saint Gudule:<br>Have you discovered your cross in the desert of the skies?<br>White roses, fall! you offend our gods,