He was born painlessly, in bless,
But we are born in awful torments,
Yet, even heavens will be stressed,
When heard the song that now floats.
Not a sweet voice, but fierce cries
Will cut the womb, so dark and heavy:
The sightless embryo denies
His coffin-like ways for behavior.
The Bible’s eastern star did not
Jet into skies in dazzling flare –
But its bright image was absorbed
By a transmuted look, forever.
Wake up, blest spirits, and arise!
We’re the reserved and bare heathens...
Pulling their hats over their eyes,
They go – the unknown wizards.
Без мук Младенец был рожден,
А мы рождаемся в мученьях,
Но дрогнет вещий небосклон,
Узнав о новых песнопеньях.
Не сладкий глас, а ярый крик
Прорежет темную утробу:
Слепой зародыш не привык,
Что путь его подобен гробу.
И не восточная звезда
Взвилась кровавым метеором,
Но впечатлелась навсегда
Она преображенным взором.
Что дремлешь, ворожейный дух?
Мы потаенны, сиры, наги...
Надвинув на глаза треух,
Бредут невиданные маги.
«Now the pillow’s / Hot on both sides. / A second candle / Dies, the ravens cry / Endlessly. / No sleep all night, / Too late to think of sleep... / How unbearably white / The blind’s white deep. / Hello, Morning!»
«To the right, wasteland by the cemetery, / Beyond it the river’s dull blue. / You said: "Go, get thee, to a nunnery / Or get a fool to marry you…" Though that’s always how Princes speak, / Still, I’ve remembered the words. / As an ermine mantle let them stream, / Behind him, thr...»
«Hands clasped, under the dark veil. / "Today, why are you so pale?" / – Because I’ve made him drink his fill / Of sorrow’s bitter tale. How could I forget? He staggered, / His mouth twisted with pain... / I ran down not touching the rail, / I ran all the way to the gate. "I was j...»
«Memory of sun ebbs from the heart. / Grass fades early. / Wind blows the first snowflakes / Barely, barely. Freezing water can’t flow / Along these narrow channels. / Nothing happens here, oh / Nothing can happen. A willow against the sky / Spreads its transparent fan. / Better p...»