Anna Akhmatova
To awake when dawn is breaking...

To awake when dawn is breaking,
Just because joy stops me sleeping,
And to look out through the port-hole
Where the green waves beat outside,
Or on deck with the rain falling
To sit wrapped with furs around me,
Listen to the engine throbbing,
And to have thoughts at all,
But expecting soon to meet him.
Him who is the star that guides me,
With the wind and salt spray blowing
To grow younger every hour.

Translated by Cecil Maurice Bowra