to Valentina Serova
That's how we live, without forgetting,
Today it's him, tomorrow I.
The cup of death goes round the table
And each must wait his turn to die.
If I am blind to how you treat me.
It's not because I cannot see.
It is because, around the table,
The cup comes round again towards me!
Да, мы живём, не забывая
Что просто не пришел черед,
Что смерть, как чаша круговая,
Наш стол обходит круглый год.
Не потому тебе прощаю,
Что не умею помнить зла,
А потому, что круговая
Ко мне все ближе вдоль стола.
«A snake, it coils / Bewitching the heart. / Day after day, coos / A dove on the white sill. A bright flash in frost, / Drowsy night-scented stock... / Yet, sure and secret, / It’s far from peace and joy. It knows how to weep sweetly / In the violin’s yearning prayer; / And is f...»
«I. Horses along the ride, / Long waves of combed manes. / O enchanting town of enigmas, / I’m sad. I’m in love with you. Strange to recall soul’s longing, / Suffocating, delirious death. / Now I’m simply a plaything, / Like the green parrot, my friend. If you wish to, look in ...»
«Now the pillow’s / Hot on both sides. / A second candle / Dies, the ravens cry / Endlessly. / No sleep all night, / Too late to think of sleep... / How unbearably white / The blind’s white deep. / Hello, Morning!»
«To the right, wasteland by the cemetery, / Beyond it the river’s dull blue. / You said: "Go, get thee, to a nunnery / Or get a fool to marry you…" Though that’s always how Princes speak, / Still, I’ve remembered the words. / As an ermine mantle let them stream, / Behind him, thr...»