O we — the sorrowful,
We — the damned,
Participants in good,
Defeated by evil,
In our dreams — exalted,
In our deeds — deceitful,
In our impulses — wild,
In our tears—pitiful!
Chosen by Fate,
Ignorant of happiness,
We wander — strange ones —
Amidst foul weather,
In love with a star,
By a star protected,
Unsatisfied,
Unsatisfying.
O we — the sorrowful,
We — the damned,
Participants in good,
Born in evil,
Have tasted the fruit
Of knowledge in sin,
Have forgotten our paradise
In the darkness of exile.
О, мы, — несчастные,
Мы, — осужденные,
Добру причастные,
Злом побежденные,
В мечтах — великие,
В деяньях — ложные,
В порывах — дикие,
В слезах — ничтожные!
Судьбой избранные,
Чуждаясь счастия,
Мы бродим, — странные, —
Среди ненастия;
В звезду влюбленные,
Звездой хранимые,
Неутоленные,
Неутолимые.
О, мы, — несчастные,
Мы, — осужденные,
Добру причастные,
Во зле рожденные.
Плода познания
В грехе вкусившие,
Во тьме изгнания
Свой рай забывшие!
«Without obstetrician, in darkness, unconscious, / The towering Urals, hands clawing the night, / Yelled out in travail and fainted away, / Blinded by agony, gave birth to light. In thunder, the masses and bronzes of mountains, / Accidentally struck, avalanched down. / The train went on pa...»
«The rain cleans the willow dung / Off the meadows with its wet brooms. / Go ahead, wind, spit your clumps of leaves. / I’m a hooligan just like you. I love it when your blue woods, / Like oxen with heavy steps, / Soil the knees of the trunks / With their foliage-wheezing bellies. Her...»
«For Marienhof I’m the last poet of the village. / The wooden bridge is modest in my songs. / I’m attending the farewell night service / Of birches hemorrhaging foliage. The wax candle of flesh / Will burn its last golden flame, / And the moon’s wooden clock / Will wheeze out my t...»
«Since ancient times, a special measure / Has existed for all living things. / If I hadn’t been a poet, I probably would / Have been a thief and a conman. Thin and short, / Always a hero among boys, / How often I came home / With a busted nose. To my frightened mother / I hissed thr...»