At night all rooms are black
Every voice is dark. At night
All beauty of the earth's countries
Are the same — the innocent — the guilty.
And each one talks to the other
At night, the beautiful and the thieves.
Past his house I steal —
Not that it really looks like yours at night!
And your neighbor - strangely unlike,
And on each passing — a knife
And I hang around in impotent rage
Under the huge black trees.
Oh, narrow underground bed
At night, in the dark, at night!
Oh, I'm afraid that I will get up
And whisper, and kiss your lips...
— Pray, dear children, —
For me at the first hour and the third hour.
По ночам все комнаты черны,
Каждый голос тёмен. По ночам
Все красавицы земной страны
Одинаково — невинно — неверны.
И ведут друг с другом разговоры
По ночам красавицы и воры.
Мимо дома своего пойдёшь —
И не тот уж дом твой по ночам!
И сосед твой — странно-непохож,
И за каждою спиною — нож.
И шатаются в бессильном гневе
Чёрные огромные деревья.
Ох, узка подземная кровать
По ночам, по чёрным, по ночам!
Ох, боюсь, что буду я вставать,
И шептать, и в губы целовать…
— Помолитесь, дорогие дети,
За меня в час первый и в час третий.
«You will forget your feast and / your loss, your joys and sorrows / the minute as the moon-disk / its track of travel follows, / the minute as the owl’s / shade comes into your view, / the minute as the cricket's / romance engrosses you. You let the fading beauty / stand at the do...»
«Artists, dip you badges brushes in the visage / of the bustling Moscow yards and sunrise glaze. / so that brushes might resemble autumn leafage, / whirling leaves that fall / to mark November days. Dip your brushes by the city's old t...»
«Get up early / when the birds begin to clamour, / when the caretakers turn up in the yards. / You will see the happy drummer / yes, you'll see the happy drummer / take his drum and maple drumsticks in his hands. There will be anoth...»
«My good old naughty organ, / The sound you make is sweet. / My good old naughty organ, / I wonder where you lead. / I'm plodding hardly able / to move ahead an inch. / How can I reach my aim when / the shoes I'm wearing pinch? I'm working, I'm freelancing. / A steady job it is! / ...»