“The wind is rising! . . . We must try to live!”

—  Paul Valéry

As translated by by C. Day Lewis
Variant translations:
The wind is rising ... we must attempt to live.
Charmes ou poèmes (1922)
Context: The wind is rising!... We must try to live!
The huge air opens and shuts my book: the wave
Dares to explode out of the rocks in reeking
Spray. Fly away, my sun-bewildered pages!
Break, waves! Break up with your rejoicing surges
This quiet roof where sails like doves were pecking.

Original

Le vent se lève!… il faut tenter de vivre! L'air immense ouvre et referme mon livre, La vague en poudre ose jaillir des rocs! Envolez-vous, pages tout éblouies! Rompez, vagues! Rompez d'eaux réjouies Ce toit tranquille où picoraient des focs!

Le cimetière marin / El cementerio marino
Variant: Le vent se lève! . . . il faut tenter de vivre!
L'air immense ouvre et referme mon livre,
La vague en poudre ose jaillir des rocs!
Envolez-vous, pages tout éblouies!
Rompez, vagues! Rompez d'eaux rejouies
Ce toit tranquille où picoraient des focs!

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

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Paul Valéry photo
Paul Valéry 89
French poet, essayist, and philosopher 1871–1945

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