Death is the end of every living creature
On land and sea, but Man is punished worse:
He knows the fateful sentence in his future
Signed at the very moment of his birth.
Aware of life’s fleetness, yet undaunted,
He dares to wend his way -against all odds-
As if eternity has been bestowed upon him
And he is master of the universe.
Все умирает на земле и в море,
Но человек суровей осужден:
Он должен знать о смертном приговоре,
Подписанном, когда он был рожден.
Но, сознавая жизни быстротечность,
Он так живет — наперекор всему, —
Как будто жить рассчитывает вечность
И этот мир принадлежит ему.
«She rose upon her toes / And gave her lips to me. / I kissed her wearily / In the silent autumn dampness. And tears fell without a sound / In the silent autumn / The boring day died down — and it was boring, / Like everything that happens outside dreams.»
«“Lilac ice cream! Lilac ice cream! / Half a portion a dime! One bit for a scoop! / Have some, sir! Buy one, madam, / No need to argue, / It’s as cheap as you need. Something just made for you, / The great cuisine of the streets. “I’ve got ...»
«I, the genius Severyanin, / Intoxicated with my triumph, / I am screened in every town, / I am confirmed by every heart. From Bayazeh to far Port Arthur / I have drawn a stubborn line, / I have conquered literature / And aimed my thunder at the throne. A year ago I said, “I’ll be!...»
«The piano, trembling, makes the lips grow dry. / This frenzy cuts you down and overthrows. / You whisper: Dearest! — No, o no! I cry — / Here, with the music?! — Yet, can one be closer, Than in the twilight, flinging chords in sets — / Like diaries into the fire — in sets, complet...»