We drink life's cup with thirsty lips,
Our eyes shut fast to fears;
About the golden rim there drips
Our staining blood, our tears.
But when the last swift hour comes on,
The light long hid is lit,
From startled eyes the band is gone,
We suffer and submit.
It is not our part to possess
The cup that golden gleamed.
We see its shallow emptiness:
We did not drink — we dreamed.
Мы пьём из чаши бытия
С закрытыми очами,
Златые омочив края
Своими же слезами.
Когда же перед смертью с глаз
Завязка упадает,
И всё, что обольщало нас,
С завязкой исчезает —
Тогда мы видим, что пуста
Была златая чаша,
Что в ней напиток был — мечта,
И что она — не наша!
«I am. You will be. ’Twixt us there’s a chasm. / I drink. You thirst. Agreeing is but futile. / A decade, no, a hundred thousand years / Divide us. God above does not build bridges. So be! Now that is my commandment. Now let / Me by. I wouldn’t want your growing stunted / Because I b...»
«My memory weighs down hard upon my shoulder, / When I’m in paradise I’ll weep for earth, / And when we meet past-uttered words won’t moulder — / For what they’re worth. Where hosts of graceful harping angels flutter, / Where lilies bloom as choir of children plays, / Where all i...»
«As I die "I was" won’t be my plea. / Pity I’ll not waste, nor blame apportion. / More important things there are, you see, / Than love’s deeds and passion’s wild distortion. You — whose beating wing is deep in me, / Guilty culprit of my inspiration — / Hear then my instructi...»
«My Lord and God! I crave a wonder / This minute, at the break of day! / Oh let my life be rent asunder / While it’s a book for me, I pray. You’re wise, so you won’t strictly tell me: / "Be patient, it’s not over yet." / But you too much have lavished on me! / My craving appetite...»