In days gone by, when all of life's
Impressions offered me new thrills:
A murmurous grove, a maiden's eyes,
The nightingale in twilit hills....
When my sublimest aspirations
For freedom, glory, love and art
Instilled of holy inspiration,
So stirred the blood and spurred the heart,
Then were the days of bliss and promise
With wakeful anguish overcast,
As secretly a wicked Genius
Began to visit me unasked.
Grim were the meetings that we had:
His witching glance, the grins he stole,
The sting of every word he spat
Infused cold poison through my soul.
With indefatigable slander
He tempted Providence, and smiled.
Beauty he called a simple fancy,
And inspiration he reviled.
He doubted freedom, love, salvation
And turned on life a sneering gaze,
As there was naught in all Creation
He cared to bless with any praise.
В те дни, когда мне были новы
Все впечатленья бытия —
И взоры дев, и шум дубровы,
И ночью пенье соловья,—
Когда возвышенные чувства,
Свобода, слава и любовь
И вдохновенные искусства
Так сильно волновали кровь,
Часы надежд и наслаждений
Тоской внезапной осеня,
Тогда какой-то злобный гений
Стал тайно навещать меня.
Печальны были наши встречи:
Его улыбка, чудный взгляд,
Его язвительные речи
Вливали в душу хладный яд.
Неистощимой клеветою
Он провиденье искушал;
Он звал прекрасное мечтою;
Он вдохновенье презирал;
Не верил он любви, свободе;
На жизнь насмешливо глядел —
И ничего во всей природе
Благословить он не хотел.
«Here, in my Moscow – cupolas gleaming! / Here, in my Moscow – great bells ringing! / And the tombs here, facing, / Of Tsarinas, and the Tsars. You’ll not know, at dawn in the Kremlin, / It’s easiest to breathe – in this world, I mean! / You’ll not know, at dawn in the Kremlin ...»
«You came — / determined, / because I was large, / because I was roaring, / but on close inspection / you saw a mere boy. / You seized / and snatched away my heart / and began / to play with it — / like a girl with a bouncing ball. / And before this miracle / every woman /...»
«Wait for me, I will return. / Wait for all you’re worth. / Wait, when sulphurous rains they burn / Snuffing out all mirth, / Wait, as drifting snow it drops, / Wait, when heat’s too much. / Wait, when wait for others stops, / Past has lost its clutch. / Wait, when from that dista...»
«Wait for me, and I'll be back, / Should you wait me strong. / Wait for me when sky is black / And the sun has gone, Wait for me when it is cold, / And when it is hot, / Wait for me when others don't, / 'Cause they just forgot. Wait in case you don't receive / Letters from the front, ...»