Magdalene
3
I will not say a thing about your wayward
path, for now you are fine, my dear.
I was barefoot, but you shod me
with cascades of hair —
and tears.
Nor will I ever ask you at what cost
you bought these fragrances and oils.
I was naked, but you engulfed
me like a wave — you formed
my roof and walls.
I will caress your naked body now —
softer than water and lower than grass.
I was upright, but you forced me down
and warped me with your tenderness.
Set aside this flax and make my swaddling
by tearing out a patch of hair.
Anointer! What use to me is ointment?
Your very body washed me
like a wave.
Магдалина
3
О путях твоих пытать не буду,
Милая! — ведь всё сбылось.
Я был бос, а ты меня обула
Ливнями волос —
И — слёз.
Не спрошу тебя, какой ценою
Эти куплены масла́.
Я был наг, а ты меня волною
Тела — как стеною
Обнесла.
Наготу твою перстами трону
Тише вод и ниже трав.
Я был прям, а ты меня наклону
Нежности наставила, припав.
В волосах своих мне яму вырой,
Спеленай меня без льна.
— Мироносица! К чему мне миро?
Ты меня омыла
Как волна.
«Pray for the lost and overburdened, / For my living soul tonight, / You, in your path, so fixed and certain, / Having seen the cabin’s light. Sad and thankful, I’ll plainly / Tell you all without disguise, / How the blissful night had drained me, / How the morning breathed with ice....»
«The faded flag above the customs office, / The city in a yellow, murky veil. / My heart slows down, beating ever cautious, / And I feel pain each time that I inhale. To be a girl again, live in this coastal town, / Wear sandals on my feet, rejoice, / And heap my braids up high into a crow...»
«Her dry lips were tightly closed up. / Three thousand candles swayed. / Thus Princess Eudoxia lay atop / The scented, sapphire brocade. A tearless mother, bowing down, / Prayed to her for her blind son, / And a voiceless hysteric thrashed about / Lapping for air on the run. And he, who...»
«My youth was hard to endure. / With so much sorrow to bear. / How can a soul this poor / Be returned to You rich and fair? / A song of praise, long and elegant, / The flattering fate sings fervent. / Lord, Almighty! I’m negligent, / Always Your miserly servant. / Not a rose, not a ...»