Marina Tsvetaeva
I wrote in school, with chalk upon the slate...

I wrote in school, with chalk upon the slate,
On leaves of fans whose color had been lost,
On windows with my ring, on ice with skates
On riverbanks and seashore’s sandy coasts,

On century-old tree trunks, worn, and rough,
And finally, — just to erase all doubts —
That you are loved! Loved! Loved! Loved! Loved!
I signed my name — a rainbow through the clouds.

How much I wanted each to bloom and thrive,
With me! Beneath my fingers for the ages!
And later, with my head upon the table, I
Crossed out each name — and ruined all those pages…

But one remained with the unfaithful scribe,
Inside the heart — I feel that piercing sting!
Not sold by me! You will somehow survive
Engraved on tablets and inside the ring!

____
The poem was addressed to her husband Sergey Efron. The name of the husband and the date of the wedding is engraved on the inside of the wedding ring.

Translated by Andrey Kneller