This winter night I travel out,
This winter night, I cannot sleep:
From corners, shelves, from all about,
Across and through its heavy shroud,
The rosy-colored twilight seeps.
Having flipped the silver goblets
Over in the drowsy air,
The lilies pour me fragrant droplets
Of a drink beyond compare, —
In such poetical immersion,
Holding up their living cups,
I drink sweet poison’s final drops
Of cerebral exertion...
Chains of recollections melt
In the white glass and, demolished
By the poison for a spell,
Ignorance appears as knowledge.
Зимней ночи путь так долог,
Зимней ночью мне не спится:
Из углов и с книжных полок
Сквозь ее тяжелый полог
Сумрак розовый струится.
Серебристые фиалы
Опрокинув в воздух сонный,
Льют лилеи небывалый
Мне напиток благовонный, —
И из кубка их живого
В поэтической оправе
Рад я сладостной отраве
Напряженья мозгового...
В белой чаше тают звенья
Из цепей воспоминанья,
И от яду на мгновенье
Знаньем кажется незнанье.
«She hailed from a very distant country, / Nocturnal child of ancient times; / She had no kin to greet her entry / Not even skies with a welcome shine. And just the Neva’s faithful sentry — / The sphinx with an indented face — / Under the blizzard, fierce and wintry / ‘s reminisc...»
«The rain and the wind and the murk / Reign over cold desert of fall, / Here, life's interrupted till spring; / Till the spring, gardens barren and tall. / I'm alone in my house, it's dim / At the easel, and drafts through the rims. The other day, you came to me, / But I feel you a...»
«"She passed away, and was interred by Jacob / Beside the road..." And on the tomb, no sight / Of any name, inscription and no mark up. At nighttime, there’s a gleaming feeble light, / And whitewashed with chalk, the grave’s cupola / With enigmatic paleness is attired. I’m timidly app...»
«To E. K. Gertsyk When the love of flesh fades, / So goes the desire to create. / Your fingers don’t long to handle clay / Or chisel shadows into marble. Your song halts in mid-word, / The brush freezes in mid-stroke — / Surprise…how little they matter. / Farewell, farewell to you...»