A sweet-voiced bird's been caught.
They squeeze it in a vice-like grip.
The poor thing squeaks and warbles not
But they insist: «O, birdie, sing!»
Поймали птичку голосисту
И ну сжимать ее рукой.
Пищит бедняжка вместо свисту,
А ей твердят: «Пой, птичка, пой!»
«I speak those words, today, that come / Only once, born in the spirit. / Bees hum on white chrysanthemum: / There’s the must of an old sachet. And the room, with narrow windows, / Preserves love, remembers the past. / Over the bed a French script flows: / It reads: "Lord, have mercy o...»
«Oh, there’s no reason for sighs, / Sadness is pointless, a crime, / Here, from grey canvas, I rise, / Vaguely, strangely through time. Arms lifted, freely curtailed, / A tormented smile on my face, / I was forced to become like this / Through hours of mutual grace. He wished it so, h...»
«And to you, my first vagary, / I said goodbye. The east was turning blue, / Though I didn’t know what you meant, / You said, simply: "I’ll not forget." Other faces appear and vanish, / Dear today, and tomorrow, done. / Why is at this page alone, / The corner is turned down? Forever...»
«I pray to the ray from the window-pane — / It’s pale, thin, and straight. / All morning I was silent, / My heart — split in two. / The copper of my wash-basin / Is green with verdigris, / But sunlight plays there, / How joyously. / So simple it is, so innocent, / In evening q...»