For Miss Marie Laurencin.
Grazed by the shades of the dead
Upon the grass where day ebbs
The harlequine1 sets her naked
Body mirrored in the lake
A shady hustler hawks
What tricks he has in stock
The faded sky is marred
With milk-pale stars
From the boards the haggard con man
First salutes his observers
Some Bohemian shamans
Varied fairies and conjurers
He grasps an unhooked star
With outstretched arms
While a hanged man keeps the beat
Chiming cymbals with his feet
The blind man rocks a pretty babe
The doe with her fawns passes
The dwarf regards in sadness
The rise of Harlequin Trismegistus2
Arlequine is a female harlequin. The harlequin is a figure out of commedia dell’arte known by the diamond pattern of his costume. The name derives from the old French hellequin, a name for a thieving, mischievous devil, and the pattern of lozenges, originally red and yellow, represented flames. The character became familiar as a trickster and a romantic figure, a servant both lazy and cunning. He is a frequent subject in Western painting.
“Thrice-Great Harlequin.” This moniker combines Harlequin with Hermes Trismegistus, or “Thrice-Great Hermes,” a mythical figure from antiquity to whom were attributed a variety of texts comprising knowledge on subjects such as magic, alchemy and astrology.