Nikolay Zabolotsky
Juniper bush

I have seen in a dream a juniper brush,
I have heard a distant metallical crush,
A ringing of amethyst berries I caught,
And quietly sleeping, I liked it a lot.

I sensed through the dream the sap in the air.
Looking in through the branches I was aware,
In the gloom of the wood, the arboreal shroud,
A hint of your smile could be made out.

Juniper bush, O juniper bush,
Treacherous lips that murmur and hush,
Delicate chatter whiffing of sap,
Piercing me with a death-dealing stab!

Golden skies on the other side of the glass
See the floating clouds coming to pass,
My garden is barren and nothing is lush...
May heaven forgive you, juniper bush!

Translated by Dmitry Yampolsky