Often, to amuse themselves, the men of the crew
Catch those great birds of the seas,
The albatrosses, lazy companions of the voyage,
Who follow the ship, skimming the bitter gulfs.
Hardly have they placed them on the deck,
Than these kings of the azure, clumsy and ashamed,
Let piteously their great white wings
Drag like oars at their sides.
This winged traveler, how awkward and weak
He is now! He, so handsome before, and so amusing!
One sailor bothers him with his pipe in his beak,
Another, limping, mimics the infirm bird that flew!
The poet resembles the prince of the clouds
Who haunts the storm and laughs at the archer;
Exiled on the ground, amidst boos,
His giant wings hinder him from walking.