Innokenty Annensky
The Anguish of a Mirage

The last colour has faded
Like a whisper in a midnight prayer...
O tale of madness, what do you need
From this heart?

Aren’t my travels across the snow
Hard beyond calculation or measure?
Aren’t the empty distances grey to me?
Aren’t the bells ringing dimly?

My heart, why are you
So deeply divided?
I know that she’s far away,
But I feel her closeness.

Here they are, the snowy mists;
I can’t take my eyes off them:
Soon we must pass by each other
On the white but lifeless snow.

Soon someone will wordlessly
Couple our sleighs and uncouple them again.
For a tormenting moment the babble
Of the bells will blend for us...

They have blended... But we will never
Meet each other again in the dim night...
In the anguish of an endless circle
I drag myself along a hateful path...

The last colour has faded
Like a whisper in a midnight prayer...
O tale of madness, what do you need
From this heart?

Translated by John Cobley