Innokenty Annensky
i am at the bottom

I am on the bottom; I am a sorrowful
Fragment; above me the water is shimmering
Green. Out of the heavy glass darkness
There are no roads for anyone to anywhere...

I remember the sky, zigzags of flight,
White marble, and under it the cistern;
I remember the spray from the fountain’s
Jet, all pierced through with blue fire...

If one believes those whispers of
Delirium which oppress my outworn
Rest, an Andromeda with a crippled
White hand is grieving there for me.

Translated by R. H. Morrison