Boris Pasternak
Daybreak

You meant so much; you were my fate.
Then war and havoc swept the ground.
Year in, year out, till very late
There was no word from you, no sound.

That long, long time is now behind.
Your voice has stirred me up once more.
I’ve read your testament all night
And felt alive in every pore.

I need more people; crowds are good;
I love their early morning bustle.
I’d crush the world to chips of wood
And make it kneel in any tussle.

So down the stairs I madly run
As if I’d never been out there
Where snow is falling, clinging on
To streets still desolate and bare.

There’s waking, lights, a cozy feel,
Some tea, a dash to trams from home.
The morning shortly will reveal
A city earlier unknown.

Outdoors the blizzard weaves the twine
Of snowflakes coming down in sync,
And folks in need to be on time
Give up unfinished food and drink.

I feel for all of them, I know,
As if we once had shared this town.
And so I melt like melting snow
And, like the morning, wake and frown.

Not one I’m with has got a name,
Nor trees, nor kids, nor home birds — none.
I’ve been defeated at their game,
And that’s the victory I’ve won. 

Translated by Yuri Menis