Poor naked wretches...
King Leer
Outside, behind the window pane,
The angry tempest rages wild,
The clouds rush with gushing rain,
The merciless wind is wailing, riled!
A frightening night! On such a night,
I sympathize with all the homeless,
And pity pushes me outside –
Into the damp embrace of coldness!..
To fight against the gloom and rain,
Partaking in this ruthless trial...
Outside, behind the window pane,
The pining wind is raging wild!
Вы, бедные, нагие несчастливцы.
Лир
О, как безумно за окном
Ревёт, бушует буря злая,
Несутся тучи, льют дождем,
И ветер воет, замирая!
Ужасна ночь! В такую ночь
Мне жаль людей, лишённых крова,
И сожаленье гонит прочь —
В объятья холода сырого!..
Бороться с мраком и дождем,
Страдальцев участь разделяя...
О, как безумно за окном
Бушует ветер, изнывая!
«Somehow scientists are in favor, / Somehow poets are in disgrace. / It has not been done on purpose / Everything has its own place Did the truth come out in verses? / Did we stir somebody's soul? / Our rhymes are weak and hollow / They can't fly, they barely crawl. Our stallion Pegasus...»
«A forward rejoices on the run, / where's there now for him to hide? / since his bones give no protection / to his body opened wide. / His soul flies like a cape, / his collar bone loudly clangs / against the clasp fixed on his cape, / the membrane in his ear bangs, / the grape dances...»
«Deep within a bottle paradise / where palm trees withered long ago, / dazzled by electric bulbs, / a window in a goblet swam; / it flickered on the fan-blades, / then grew heavy, downwards slid; / and beery smoke hovered inside... / But it’s impossible to describe. And in this bottl...»
«Look: it’s not a ball, nor masquerade, / here night’s passing is mistimed, / here wild laughter, wine-besotted, / flies about like a parrot, blind; / hills and bridges come apart, / lovers gather in a crowd, / one is ardent, another jaded, / a third one’s head is bowed... / Lov...»