The stoop of oaks lifts up the chrome of clouds.
Cliffs harbour alcoves, niches, grottos deep.
And rain and wind and heat have left their traces
Into these stones engraved. A sketch is grooved
Onto the slope, crayoned by lichen, framed by moss,
And walls of rock rise up as icon-cases.
The cinnabar and niello here, yonder —
Vestiges of gilding and of icons
The cryptic visages time-worn...
Дубы нерослые подъемлют облак крон.
Таятся в толще скал теснины, ниши, гроты,
И дождь, и ветр, и зной следы глухой работы
На камне врезали. Источен горный склон,
Расцвечен лишаём и мохом обрамлён,
И стены высятся, как древние киоты:
И чернь, и киноварь, и пятна позолоты,
И лики стёртые неведомых икон.
«A forest goes black when touched by warmth, / Moistered by the wet of spring. / As pearles on threads are shivering a lot — / The drops of water in the wind. The buds of the round bells are closed / And are tough and solid. / But sun uncovers the aureolas / Of that bellflowers of spri...»
«There lived an absent-minded lad, / Whom on Basseynaya street we met / / In the morning, on his bed, / He, when putting on his shirt, / In the sleeves then placed his arms — / Sleeves turned out to be his pants. / / Such an absent-minded lad / There once lived in Basseynaya str...»
«How proud and festive the parade, / The thundering trumpets lead the way, / And lines of soldiers in array / Follow one another. His wife is joyful like a bride, / His daughter watches full of pride, / Only his mother turns aside: / "Where are you going, mother?" The silent guns have l...»
«Without obstetrician, in darkness, unconscious, / The towering Urals, hands clawing the night, / Yelled out in travail and fainted away, / Blinded by agony, gave birth to light. In thunder, the masses and bronzes of mountains, / Accidentally struck, avalanched down. / The train went on pa...»