Translation Attempt: Le Vampire

You who, like a knife’s thrust,
entered my plaintive heart;
You who, strong as a herd
of demons, came on crazy & all dolled up

to take control & make your bed
in my humiliated brain—
Bitch I'm tied to
like a criminal to cuffs,

like gamblers to their games,
like a bottle to a drunk,
like maggots to flesh—
Fuck you.

I prayed to a quick blade
for freedom
& I asked poison
to consummate my cowardice.

No use. Poison & blade
both spat back:
“You're not even worth
saving. Fuck off,

Idiot. Even if we did
untie her knots,
your kisses would only revive
your vampire's corpse.”



Baudelaire's original poem and some other translations available here.