Marina Tsvetaeva
Girlfriend. 10. How can I not recall...

How can I not recall
That smell of White Rose and tea,
And the Sevres figures
Above the blazing fireplace…

We were: I in a splendid dress
Of golden silk,
You — in a knitted black jacket
With a winged collar.

I remember, with what face you
Entered — without the slightest trace of make-up,
How you stood, biting a finger,
Barely tilting your head.

And your powerloving brow
Under the heaviness of your redhaired helmet,
Not a woman and not a boy,
But something stronger than me!

With a gratuitous motion
I stood up, they surrounded us.
And someone in a joking tone:
“Get acquainted, gentlemen.”

And you laid your hand in mine
With a long motion,
And it tenderly lingered in my palm
Like a shard of ice.

With some man, looking askance,
Already anticipating the confrontation, —
I reclined in the chair,
Spinning a ring on my finger.

You took out a cigarette,
And I brought a match up to it,
Not knowing what I would do, if
You were to look me in the face.

I remember — above the blue vases —
How we clinked our glasses.
“Oh, be my Orestes!”
And I gave you a flower.

With grey-eyed lightning¹
From your suede black purse,
You took out in a long gesture
And dropped — a handkerchief.

____
1. In some versions of the manuscript this line is “Смеясь — над моей ли фразой?” or “Laughing…was it at something I said?”

Translated by Karina McCorkle