Alexander Blok
On the plain of Kulikovo. 3. The night when Mamai and his hordes were spread...

3

The night when Mamai and his hordes were spread
        On the steppe and on the bridges
You and I were there on that dark field
        Together — lid you know this?

Before the dark, portending Don I heard
        Within my all-too-knowing
Heart your voice along the plain at night
        Among the cries of the swans.

From midnight on, the Princes forces billowed
        Upward like a cloud.
And in the distant mist our mother pommeled
        The horse's stirrup, and wailed.

And in the distance, night birds, circling, coasting,
        While up above our Russia
The soundless lightning that comes in summertime
        Kept watch over the Prince.

The eagles’ scream above the Tartar camp
        Threatened disaster
And the Nepryadva was decked in mist
        Like a princess in a veil.

And with the mist above the sleeping river
        Directly down to me
You came, in clothes radiant with light,
        Not frightening the horse.

Like a silvery wave you flashed
        On your friend's steel sword
You refreshed the dusty chain mail
        On my shoulder.

And when, in the morning, like a black cloud
        The horde sec out
Your image, not made by human hands,
        Shone forever on my shield.

Translated by Denis Johnson and Kathy Lewis