It seems the sea, that scourge of ages,
contrives your genius to inspire?
You laud upon your golden lyre
old Neptune’s trident as he rages.
Don’t waste your praise. These days you’ll find
that sea and land have no division.
On any element mankind
is tyrant, traitor, or in prison.
Так море, древний душегубец,
Воспламеняет гений твой?
Ты славишь лирой золотой
Нептуна грозного трезубец.
Не славь его. В наш гнусный век
Седой Нептун земли союзник.
На всех стихиях человек —
Тиран, предатель или узник.
«I drink the bitterness of primroses and autumn skies, / They hold the burning torrents of your faithlessness: / The bitterness of evenings, nights, and human crowds, / I drink my sobbing stanzas’ sodden bitterness. To workshops incubi — all soberness is foe. / We hate the safety of the ...»
«I winced. Catching fire, I shivered with cold, / Just made a proposal of marriage. Too late — / I was nervous and frightened; her answer was no. — / I am grieved with her tears. And more blessed than a saint! I went out on the square. It seemed I was born / for a second time. Each insig...»
«A cardboard box of sugared orange — / My little garret. / No need to trudge through dingy lodgings / To the mortuary! I moved again into this room — / From superstition. / The paper on the walls is brown, / The door is singing. I h...»
«They bring a bouquet of thistles / And put it on the table. / Before me, a fire, a turmoil. / The purple dance of flames. / These sharp-pointed stars, / These splashes of northern lights. / Tambourines thunder and moan. / Lanterns burst from inside. / This too is a way of making worl...»