The barren slope of the meandering valley
Is overgrown with hoary, wiry grass.
Spurge shows up white. Eroded beds of clay
Reveal the sparkling lead and shale and mica.
The water-worn and slaty walls sprout capers;
A crevice clasps the olive’s withered trunk;
Above the hill, the violet Karadag
Rears up his summits in a jagged ridge.
The sultriness has wrapped the hills in haze.
The fumes of grass, mercurial reflections,
The screams of cicadae and birds of prey —
Make dull the senses, cause the heat to quaver...
And yonder, through their yawning orbits, gaze
The trampled-out eyes of a colossal Face.
Травою жёсткою, пахучей и седой
Порос бесплодный скат извилистой долины.
Белеет молочай. Пласты размытой глины
Искрятся грифелем, и сланцем, и слюдой.
По стенам шифера, источенным водой,
Побеги каперсов; иссохший ствол маслины;
А выше за холмом лиловые вершины
Подъемлет Карадаг зубчатою стеной.
И этот тусклый зной, и горы в дымке мутной,
И запах душных трав, и камней отблеск ртутный,
И злобный крик цикад, и клёкот хищных птиц —
Мутят сознание. И зной дрожит от крика…
И там — во впадинах зияющих глазниц
Огромный взгляд растоптанного Лика.
«The evening light is steeped in gold / And April chill is mild and tender. / You’re late by eons, unforetold, / I’m glad to welcome my attender. Sit close in a cozy nook, / Look on with cheerful expression: / Here’s my blue cover notebook / With childish rhyming indiscretions. Fo...»
«Blessings to you, the unbearable pain! / Our fair gray eyed king will no longer reign. One autumn evening was stuffy and red, / My dear old husband solemnly said: "Hunters brought him all wrapped up in a cloak, / They found his dead body at the old oak. Pity the queen. He was so young and g...»
«Through macrocosm and scintillating orbs / I say the name of One Celestial Lover… / Not that I have been loving Her before, / But that I have been wearied by the others. And if the doubt exacts a heavy toll, / She is the One I’m begging for true guidance, / Not that She brings mor...»
«My friend, there’s joy and love, and all’s / Recurring in this ancient world, / Although not in our hearts, in others’. / But my dear mate, and you and me — / We’re only Beauty’s reverie, / We’re drops in the eternal chalice / Of timele...»