Marina Tsvetaeva
From the mind’s dreams, from the bile’s rage...

From the mind’s dreams, from the bile’s rage,
Goddess of Faithfulness, keep your slave.

With cast-iron hoops bind tight her breast,
Goddess of Faithfulness, be her nest.

Remove from the shrub all flowers and pips,
Make her mouth numb, then seal her lips.

As safe as bone encased in a grave,
Goddess of Faithfulness, keep your slave.

To keep your loom humming without a stop,
Her lips must learn the law of the lock.

To have it inscribed on the stone of her grave:
“Only of Faithfulness was I the slave!”

Her ribs to the post, with your sharpest stave,
Goddess of Faithfulness, now stab your slave!

Translated by Nina Kossman