Unharnessed, the white horse ambles along.
Where are you going, white horse?
The sun shines, an early spring breeze
Rumples the shirts and handkerchiefs in the garden.
I who one day took my leave of Russia
(On a night preceeding an arctic dawn)
Did not turn round, nor cross myself,
Nor notice how suddenly I came to be
In this obscure European hole.
If only I were bored . . . . But I am not bored.
Life was lost, but I cherish my peace.
I receive letters from dead friends
And, reading them, burn with relief
In the blue late winter snow.
Белая лошадь бредет без упряжки.
Белая лошадь, куда ты бредешь?
Солнце сияет. Платки и рубашки
Треплет в саду предвесенняя дрожь.
Я, что когда-то с Россией простился
(Ночью навстречу полярной заре),
Не оглянулся, не перекрестился
И не заметил, как вдруг очутился
В этой глухой европейской дыре.
Хоть поскучать бы... Но я не скучаю.
Жизнь потерял, а покой берегу.
Письма от мертвых друзей получаю
И, прочитав, с облегчением жгу
На голубом предвесеннем снегу.
«Why can’t I be flying like a bird o'er mead, / Like this very raven that flew o'er head? / Why can’t I be soaring aloof in the sky / Where freedom alone will always be mine? I’d rush to the west, to the west I would fly, / Where blossoming fields of my ancestors lie, / Where high on...»
«That events were at sea-shore, / Where foam is patterned, / Where hardly you can meet / Any carriage on path... / There queen played the Chopin, / In the tower of castle, / And while listening Chopin, / Her page-boy fell in love. All was simple as always, / All was pretty in such wa...»
«It happened near the sea with foam like airy lace. / You could hardly see a city cab in that place. / A queen was playing a piano in her castle's tower. / Listening to Shopin a page felt under her power. / / It just happened, so simple and so sweet — / She asked him to cut a pomegrana...»
«A seed of jolly grape I'll put into the earth, / I'll kiss the vine and tear off ripe bunches. / I gather friends and tune my heart to love them all. / If not, what is the cause to live on Earth eternal? / / Dear guests get together, welcome for my treat. / Speak up what you think of me...»