For a Baptism

If, subtle, the little nose,

Dazzling drowned therewithin such

Candor of laughs divined quite those

That this piece of lace hides much,

The filial instinct took you with it,

Prideful, but the second one,

To resemble by her spirit

Quietly your grandmother blonde,

Conserve, from the baptismal fonts,

So that it may volatilize

Miraculously in words at once

Native as a breeze and bright,

Mademoiselle Mirabel

On your tongue the salt-grain well.

Stéphane Mallarmé