Smoke
by Théophile Gautier
Over there, trees are sheltering
A hunchedback hut… A slum, no more…
Roof askew, walls and wainscoting
Falling away… Moss hides the door.
Only one shutter, hanging… But
Seeping over the windowsill,
Like frosted breath, proof that this hut,
This slum, is living, breathing still.
Corkscrew of smoke… A wisp of blue
Escapes the hovel, whose soul it is…
Rises to God himself, and who
Receives the news and makes it his.
Théophile Gautier (1811-1872) was a 19th-century French writer, poet and art critic. He is best known for his writings on the Romantic movement and its influence on French literature. His most famous works include “Mademoiselle de Maupin” and his poems such as “The Comedy of Death”.