The Albatross

Often, to amuse themselves, the men of a crew Catch albatrosses, those vast sea birds That indolently follow a ship As it glides over the deep, briny sea.

Scarcely have they placed them on the deck Than these kings of the sky, clumsy, ashamed, Pitifully let their great white wings Drag beside them like oars.

That winged voyager, how weak and gauche he is, So beautiful before, now comic and ugly! One man worries his beak with a stubby clay pipe; Another limps, mimicking the cripple who once flew!

The Poet resembles this prince of cloud and sky Who frequents the storm and laughs at the bowman; Exiled on the earth amidst its hooting crowds, His giant wings prevent him from walking.