the elevation

it sometimes helps

to rise above as much of what we know as

"it all"

as is possible.

the rewards are often short

and just as often quickly forgotten.

but the feeling of release

from the tangled webs of daily life

is palpable and healing.

the elevation

above the valleys, over rills and meres,

above the mountains, woods, the oceans, clouds,

beyond the sun, past all ethereal bounds,

beyond the borders of the starry spheres,

my agile spirit, how you take your flight!

like a strong swimmer swooning on the sea

you gaily plough the vast immensity

with manly, inexpressible delight.

fly far above this morbid, vaporous place;

go cleanse yourself in higher, finer air,

and drink up, like a pure, divine liqueur,

bright fire, out of clear and limpid space.

beyond ennui, past troubles and ordeals

tthat load our dim existence with their weight,

happy the strong-winged man, who makes the great

leap upward to the bright and peaceful fields!

the man whose thoughts, like larks, take to their wings

each morning, freely speeding through the air,

- who soars above this life, interpreter

of flowers' speech, the voice of silent things!

charles baudelaire

translated by james mcgowan