Mirra Lokhvitskaya
Enis-el-Djellis

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.

Translated by Temira Pachmuss