Marina Tsvetaeva
Parting 7. Like a silvery sapling...

7

Like a silvery sapling
He darted upward.
That Zeus not
Espy him —
Pray!

At the first rustle
Take fear and alarm.
They are jealous of
Masculine charm.

More dreadful than the jaws
Of a beast – is their call.
The nest of the gods
Is jealous of charm.

With blossoms, with laurels
They’ll lure him aloft.
That Zeus not
Elect him —
Pray!

The whole sky in a thunder
Of eagles’ wings.
Crash down with your whole breast —
That they not conceal him.

In the aquiline thunder
— Oh beak! Oh blood! —
A miniscule lamb
Is dangling – Love…

With your hair unbound,
With your whole breast – prone!
That Zeus not
Exalt him —
Pray!

Translated by Sibelan Forrester