Anna Akhmatova
All is traded, betrayed, and languished...

For N. Rykovoya

All is traded, betrayed, and languished,
Death’s black wing has been flashing in flight,
All is gnawed at by the ravenous anguish…
So how is it that we bask in the light?

In the day, the woods send a stream
Of a cherry scent through the town nearby,
And new galaxies shimmer and gleam
In the translucent night skies of July, —

And something wondrous nears the neglected
Broken homes, on the verge of its entry,
Still unknown to us, but expected
And desired since the turn of the century.

Translated by Andrey Kneller