Poor naked wretches, whereso'er you are,
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm...
King Lear
Oh what a storm! It's like insane,
The wicked blizzard wails and rages,
The clouds rush with pouring rain
The wind now fades, now wails and surges.
Oh what a fright! On such a night
I pity the forsaken homeless,
Compassion makes me take to flight
Into the arms of soaking coldness!..
To fight the darkness and the rain
And share the fate of wretched martyrs...
Oh what a storm! It's like insane,
The wicked blizzard wails and sputters!
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!
«In memory of A. Blok and N. Gumilyov Day by day more brutal and more savage, / Deathly horror holds the night in thrall. / Putrid winds extinguish lives like candles. / No more strength to scream, to help, to call. / Dark the destiny of Russian poets / And inscrutable the roads they trod:...»
«A girl was singing in the choir with fervor / Of all who have known exile and distress, / Of all the vessels that have left the harbor, / Of all who have forgotten happiness. Her voice soared up to the dome. Glistening, / A sunbeam brushed her shoulder in its flight, / And from the darkne...»
«What were those strolling fops and dandies / Making of the seashore? / They set up tables, smoke, chew, / Sip soft drinks. Then wander about the beach / Moodily laughing and infecting / The salty air with their gossip. Then, / Their drivers take them out in kibitkas2 / Covered coquetti...»
«These evenings over the restaurants / The air is hot and strangely cloying, / And shouts drift from the drunkards’ haunts / On the putrid breath of spring. Far off, over dusty side streets can be seen — / Over snug villas mile on mile — / The golden flint of a baker’s sign, / An...»