Mirra Lokhvitskaya
I want to die young...

I want to die young,
Neither loving nor grieving for anyone;
To burst like a golden falling star,
To shed my petals while still an unfaded flower.
I want those wearied by hostility
To find bliss twofold at my gravestone.
I want to die young.

Bury me to the side,
Away from the irritating and noisy road,
There, where the pussy willow inclines to the waves,
Where the overgrown bushes grow yellow.
So that the dreamy poppies may grow,
So that the wind may breathe the fragrances
Of the distant earth over me.
I want to die young.

I don’t look at the path I’ve travelled.
At the madness of wasted years.
I can doze untroubled,
Once I’ve sung my final hymn.
Let the fire not completely fade;
Let there remain a memory of
What aroused the heart’s thirst for life.
I want to die young.

Translated by Temira Pachmuss