Alexander Blok
On The Field of Kulikovo. 5. Over the plain of Kulikovo...

5

And the dawn was covered
with the shadow of inescapable misfortunes.
Soloviev

Over the plain of Kulikovo
Again the mist ascends
And like a lowering cloud bank covers
The held, and darkens the dawn.

Beneath the silence and the mist
One cannot hear the battle
Roaring terribly, nor see the flash
Of lightning in the struggle.

But I can see you, dawn of holy
Days immersed in violence’
Above the enemy camp again
Swans' cries, the flapping of their wings.

The heart can never rest in peace;
The clouds drawn down today
Like heavy armor before the battle.
Your hour has come — Pray!

Translated by Denis Johnson and Kathy Lewis