In the darkness and still of a mysterious night
I see a fond and welcoming spark,
From the chorus of spheres, familiar eyes
Shine upon a grave forgotten in the steppe.
The grass has faded, the desert is grim,
A lonely tomb dreams an orphan's dream,
And only in the sky, like an eternal idea,
The stars' golden eyelashes sparkle.
And I dream you've risen from the dead,
Unchanged since you departed the earth,
And I dream a dream: we both are young,
And you've looked at me as you did back then.
В тиши и мраке таинственной ночи
Я вижу блеск приветный и милой,
И в звездном хоре знакомые очи
Горят в степи над забытой могилой.
Трава поблекла, пустыня угрюма,
И сон сиротлив одинокой гробницы,
И только в небе, как вечная дума,
Сверкают звезд золотые ресницы.
И снится мне, что ты встала из гроба,
Такой же, какой ты с земли отлетела,
И снится, снится: мы молоды оба,
И ты взглянула, как прежде глядела.
«These are ashes of treasures, / Of pain and loss. / Faced with such ashes, / Granite turns to dust. A dove, naked and taintless, / Alive, yet matchless. / These are Solomon’s ashes / Above the great vanity. The menacing chalk mark / Of the dawnless age. / God’s at my doorstep /...»
«A soldier — into a trench, / A head of hair — into grayness, / Sky! I blend with you, sea-like. / On every syllable / As at a secret look, / I turn, / I preen. A Scythian — into a skirmish, / A whip — into a wild dance. / Sea! I brave into you, sky-like. / In every poem / ...»
«From the mind’s dreams, from the bile’s rage, / Goddess of Faithfulness, keep your slave. With cast-iron hoops bind tight her breast, / Goddess of Faithfulness, be her nest. Remove from the shrub all flowers and pips, / Make her mouth numb, then seal her lips. As safe as bone encased ...»
«When parched with thirst, give me water, / One glass, or else I’ll die. / Persistently — languidly — melodically — / I pledge my feverish cry Repeated at length — yet still more fiercely, / Once more — again / Tossing all night long for sleep, / Aware all sleep is spent. ...»