Dark deity, whose black splendor

Shines a fire that burns us all:

The snow is nothing,

Your ebony defeats the ivory.

From darkness comes the splendor of glory,

And I have seen in your eyes, I dare not speak,

An African love preparing to fly,

An ebony bow that rides to victory.

Demonless witch, seer of what’s to come,

Who reads in her palm what we’ve come to see

And charms the senses in a look:

You seem to have learned the future,

But do not amuse yourself with adventure:

Dark deity, bring it to us.

Georges de Scudéry, translated by Frank Watson

Link to the original French poem: http://www.poetrynook.com/poem/la-belle-egyptienne