French Love Poems

French Love Poems is about the kinds of love that puzzle, delight and afflict us throughout our lives, from going on walks with an attractive cousin before Sunday dinner (Nerval) to indulging a granddaughter (Hugo). On the way there’s the first yes from lips we love (Verlaine), a sky full of stars reflected fatally in Cleopatra’s eyes (Heredia), Iying awake waiting for your lover (Valéry), and the defeated toys of dead children (Gautier). The selection covers five centuries, from Ronsard to Val...