Boris Pasternak
Daybreak

You meant everything in my fate.
But then came war and destruction,
And for so, so long
I heard not a whisper from You.

And many, many years later,
Your voice again began to trouble me.
All night I read Your testament,
And came to life again, like one stirred from unconsciousness..

I feel the need to seek out people — crowds —
To join their early morning animation.
I’m ready to break everything to bits,
To bring everyone to their knees.

And I run along the staircase,
As if emerging for the first time
Onto these snow-covered streets,
This dead pavement.

Everywhere, the people rise; their lights, their comfort,
Their morning tea, their rush to catch the streetcars.
And in a matter of minutes,
The city looks nothing like it did before.

In the entryway a snowstorm weaves
A web of thickly falling flakes,
And to get there in good time,
Everyone races off — their tea, their food unfinished.

I feel for every last one of them,
As though I’d spent time in their skin;
I melt myself, just like the snow melts;
I, like the morning, also knit my brow.

With me are people without names,
And trees, and children, and those homebound.
I am conquered by them all,
And in this alone is my victory.

Translated by Mark Pettus