Marina Tsvetaeva
My eyes are scorched by every gaze...

My eyes are scorched by every gaze,
Each day is different in a way.
I am telling you this, just in case,
I should ever cheat and betray:

No matter whose lips I’ll kiss
With passionate love and affection,
And no matter to whom, in bliss,
At night, I’ll vow in confession

To live just as mothers preach
And bloom as a flower blooms,
Take no notice of men, and teach
My eyes to ignore their looks, —

See this cypress cross? By this one
That you know so well, I swear:
All will waken — you just whistle
By my window there.

Translated by Andrey Kneller