Up out of an evil clinging pool
I grew, whispering like a reed,
Breathing the forbidden life
Passionately, languidly and tenderly.
And I bend over back into the cold refuge of the swamp,
Marked by no-one,
Met by the welcoming rustle
Of the brief autumnal moments.
I'm happy with this cruel affront
And in this dream-like life
I envy every other secretly
And am secretly in love with each.
Из омута злого и вязкого
Я вырос, тростинкой шурша, —
И страстно, и томно, и ласково
Запретною жизнью дыша.
И никну, никем не замеченный,
В холодный и топкий приют,
Приветственным шелестом встреченный
Коротких осенних минут.
Я счастлив жестокой обидою,
И в жизни, похожей на сон,
Я каждому тайно завидую
И в каждого тайно влюблён.
«Here is the long-bided hour: the labor of years is accomplished. / Why should this sadness unplumbed secretly weigh on my heart? / Is it, my work being done, I stand like a laborer, useless, / One who has taken his pay, alien to unwonted tasks? / Is it the work I regret, the silent com...»
«Not by old masters, rich on crowded walls, / My house I ever sought to ornament, / That gaping guests might marvel while they bent / To connoisseurs with condescending drawls. / Amidst slow labors, far from garish halls, / Before one picture I would fain have spent / Eternity: where the ...»
«King of Heavens! Release / My sick soul to its peace! / For the errors of earth / Send oblivion's dearth; / To thy stern paradise / Give my heart strength to rise.»
«Departed brother, who has disturbed your sleep / And trampled on the sanctity of the tomb? / Into your house, all dug up, I stepped down — / I took your skull in my hands, dusty and yellow. The remnants of your hair — it wore them still. / I saw the slow course of decay upon it. / Hor...»