Osip Mandelshtam
- After midnight, clean out of your hands..., by Robert Chandler
- After midnight, the heart pinches away..., by Andrey Kneller
«Not the snake fangs, but the stinging / Heartache emptied out my veins. / A quiet girl, I call love, singing / Birdlike in the whitened plains. The other road closed long ago, / My prince — in a fortress, up high, / Will I betray him? — I don’t know! / But my life on this earth i...»
«Muse-sister gazed at me pensively, / Her clear bright eyes didn’t blink, / And snatched the gold ring from me, / The very first gift of spring. / Muse! you see, how happy they feel – / Young ladies, widows, and wives… / I would much rather die on the wheel / Than to be in these f...»
«I She longs for the forgotten moment / Of the springtime dream so sweet, / Like Perrette pines for the golden / Pitcher shattered at her feet... She’s collected all the pieces, / But could not assemble them... / “If you only knew, Alisa, / Just how bored of life I am! I won’t ea...»
«The moon illuminates the eaves, / And skims the crests of waves at night… / The chilly hands of the marquise / Are fragrant, delicate and light. “O Prince! — she curtsies and exhales, — / “In quadrille, you’re the vis-à-vis,” — / The mask conceals her turning pale / Fro...»