In an ornamented tower huddled the harem
Of the lord of an eastern land;
There captives lived, not knowing why,
Languished, and awaited Spring.
The sun had inclined toward the pearly waves,
The air breathed wind and dreams.
An unknown knight on a white steed
Approached — and paused neath the window.
He watched as the birds, having touched the window,
Circled and drifted downward.
He saw — in the harem one lovelier than all,
The slave Enis-el-Djellis.
Her young lips were red,
Like the roses of southern lands.
More ethereal than the evening shadows
Seemed her seductive shape.
Her luxuriant braids coiled in the sun,
Like two golden streams.
And the knight cried out: “Enis-el-Djellis!
You’ll be mine — or no one’s.”
Along the red clouds
The sun withdrew into its night chamber.
Glory to the names of those immortalized in love —
Theirs will be commended to the ages.
The tower has crumbled. On that dark cliff
There stands a silent cypress.
The slave Enis-el-Djellis
Dreams in the cold earth, murdered.
В узорчатой башне ютился гарем
Владыки восточной страны,
Где пленницы жили, не зная зачем
Томились и ждали весны.
Уж солнце склонялось к жемчужной волне,
Повеяло ветром и сном.
Неведомый рыцарь на белом коне
Подъехал и — стал под окном.
Он видел, как птицы, коснувшись окна,
Кружились и прядали вниз.
Он видел — в гареме всех краше одна,
Рабыня Энис-эль-Джеллис.
Уста молодые алели у ней,
Как розы полуденных стран.
Воздушней казался вечерних теней
Ее обольстительный стан.
На солнце пушистые косы вились,
Как два золотые ручья.
И рыцарь воскликнул: «Энис-эль-Джеллис,
Ты будешь моя — иль ничья».
И солнце в ночные чертоги свои
По красным сошло облакам.
Да славится имя бессмертных в любви, —
Оно передастся векам.
Разрушена башня. На темной скале
Безмолвный стоит кипарис.
Убитая, дремлет в холодной земле
Рабыня Энис-эль-Джеллис.
«Between us a double-edged knife / I swore — in my thoughts to put it there... / But sometimes there are — passionate sisters! / But sometimes there is brotherly passion! But this is like a touch of / The prairie in the wind, an abyss on the lips / A blow... Sword, protect us two / ...»
«In a world where everyone / Stoops and [produces] suds / I know —only one / Equal in strength to me. In a world where we / Seek so much, / I know — only one / Equal to me in might. In a world where everything is — / Mold and vines / I know: only one / You — equal in dep...»
«How can you live with another woman — / Simpler? — Pull at the oar! — / Head for the coast line / Soon your memory will have departeded of me, the floating island / (In the sky — not in the sea)! / Souls, Souls! — You'll be sisters, / Not lovers - you! How can you live wit...»
«Dis-stances: versts, miles... / They have dis-jointed us, dis-mantled, / So that we would be quiet, / At the world's farthest ends. Dis-stances: versts, spaces... / We, unstuck, unsoldered / With two arms spread, crucified, / They did not know, how that fuses Inspirations and sinews, /...»