“Nuestra pasión fué un trágico soneto. ”
— G. A. Becquer
My love is a tragic sonnet.
In it, there is the imperious structure of the sonnet’s repetitions,
Of separations and meetings, and new returns —
The surf of Fate from the darkness of former years.
The unconsummated delirium of two maidens,
The transport of two souls, the torment of two doubts,
The double temptation of heavenly seductions,
But each of them said proudly, “No.”
Following the even lines, the uneven tercets
Came to me in a returning sequence.
The sonnet’s vault closed above me.
The questions and answers have been repeated:
“Do you accept life? Will you follow me?
Will you accept the Sacrament from my hands?”
“No!”
Nuestra pasion fué un trágico soneto.
G. A. Becquer
Моя любовь — трагический сонет.
В ней властный строй сонетных повторений,
Разлук и встреч, и новых возвращений, —
Прибой судьбы из мрака прошлых лет.
Двух девушек незавершенный бред,
Порыв двух душ, мученье двух сомнений,
Двойной соблазн небесных искушений,
Но каждая сказала гордо: «Нет».
Вслед четных строк нечетные терцеты
Пришли ко мне возвратной чередой,
Сонетный свод сомкнулся надо мной.
Повторены вопросы и ответы:
«Приемлешь жизнь? Пойдешь за мной вослед?
Из рук моих причастье примешь?» — «Нет».
«The sailors near the port / shouted in chorus, demanding wine, / and over Stambul and over the Bosphorus / the full moon shone. Tonight they will hurl an unfaithful wife / to the bottom of the bay, / a wife who was too beautiful / and looked like the moon. She loved her daydreams, / ...»
«Describing circle after circle, / The wheeling kite looks down upon / A dream-like, empty meadow. A mother / Grieves in the cabin for her son: / “Here, suck this breast, here, take this bread. / Grow up, be humble, trust in God.” The ages pass, endless war rages, / Revolt flares, vi...»
«Over the empty fields a black kite hovers, / And circle after circle smoothly weaves. / In the poor hut, over her son in the cradle / A mother grieves: / “There, suck my brest: there grow and take our bread, / And learn to bear your cross and bow your head.” Time passes. War returns. ...»
«1. Black night. / White snow. / The wind, the wind! / Impossible to stay on your feet. / The wind, the wind! / Blowing across God’s world! The wind swirls round / The clean, white snow. / Under the snow — there’s ice. / It’s sl...»