Blows the swan wind,
The blue sky’s smeared
With blood; the anniversary
Of your love’s first days draws near.
You have destroyed
My sorcery; like water the years
Have drifted by. Why
Aren’t you old, but as you were?
Your tender voice even more ringing...
Only your serene brow
Has taken from time’s wing
A scattering of snow.
Веет ветер лебединый,
Небо синее в крови.
Наступают годовщины
Первых дней твоей любви.
Ты мои разрушил чары,
Годы плыли, как вода.
Отчего же ты не старый,
А такой, как был тогда?
Даже звонче голос нежный,
Только времени крыло
Осенило славой снежной
Безмятежное чело.
«I will not deceive myself, admitting / I have worries in my heart, so dreary. / Why am I reputed as a cheating / Crook and trouble-maker, really? / / I am not a villain nor a thief in hiding, / And I never shot imprisoned convicts. / I am just a thoughtless idler, smiling / Friendl...»
«They carouse, fight and sob again ‘ere / To harmonika’s yellowish rues. / They bad-mouth again their failures, / Reminiscing the Muscovy Russ. I myself, engrossed head over ears, / Am diluting my eyes with hard drinks / So as never to notice the lethal, / And to dream about differe...»
«Sing, old man, to the bloody guitar, and / Let your fingers show natural bent. / I would choke in this drunken enchantment / You"re my last and my only friend. / / Don"t you look at her wrist and the blooming / Silky shawl hanging down her head. / I was looking for joy in this woman ...»
«Your harnessed horse drank water from your palms. / Reflections of birches broke in the pond. I looked out the window at your blue headdress. / The wind ruffled your black snakelike curls. I wanted, in the shimmering foamy streams, / To tear a sharp kiss from your scarlet lips. But with a s...»