Man and Sea

from Baudelaire

Man, free, always will you prize the sea!
The sea is your mirror; you see your soul
In the unravelling of its endless roll,
And your gaping spirit burns as bitterly.

You please to plunge deep into your image,
Embrace it with eyes and arms; and your own
Heart confuses its murmurs with the moan
Of the ocean, roar unstoppable and savage.

You are both wells of shade and subtlety:
Man, none have sounded the depths of your abyss,
O sea, none know the treasures you have kissed;
With equal greeds, you guard your mysteries!

Nevertheless, for numberless centuries,
You two have vied without pity or breath;
Truly you lust for more carnage and death,
O rivals eternal, O obstinacy!