Osip Mandelshtam
The Admiralty

In northern capital a dusty poplar’s planted,
Translucent clock-face is ensnared by dappled green,
And in its shade gleams house or battleship enchanted
From far away, the kin of sky and water’s sheen.

A breezy barque, its mast of touch-me-not is slender,
It stands in line along with Peter’s royal heirs,
It shows that demi-god does not make beauty tender,
For its design is caught in simple craftsman’s stares.

On earth we’re governed by four elemental forces,
But fifth is free creation of the human heart.
Does it not mock hegemony of space’s courses,
This ark so chastely crafted by its maker’s art?

Enraged, Medusas clutch with spiteful glare’s contentions,
The rusty anchor rots like an abandoned plough —
Behold, she casts aside the bonds of three dimensions
And all the oceans of the world are opened now!

Translated by Rupert Moreton