Land of mine in dire neglect,
Country run to waste,
Fields of hay unmown as yet,
Monastery, estate.
Every cottage is askew,
Five there are in all.
In the setting sun their roofs
Foam as shadows fall.
Under shirt-thatch coverings
Roof-ribs соте to view,
Wind-blown specks of sunlight tinge
Mould of dove-grey hue.
Hitting panes unerringly
Crows past windows weave,
Like а snowstorm, the bird cherry
Waves а blossom-sleeve.
Wasn't your life а fairytale,
А legend of the past
То а late wayfarer told
Ву the feather-grass?
Край ты мой заброшенный,
Край ты мой, пустырь.
Сенокос некошеный,
Лес да монастырь.
Избы забоченились,
А и всех-то пять.
Крыши их запенились
В заревую гать.
Под соломой-ризою
Выструги стропил,
Ветер плесень сизую
Солнцем окропил.
В окна бьют без промаха
Вороны крылом,
Как метель, черемуха
Машет рукавом.
Уж не сказ ли в прутнике
Жисть твоя и быль,
Что под вечер путнику
Нашептал ковыль?
«Then summer took leave of the platform / and waiting room. Raising his cap, / the storm at night for souvenir / took snap after dazzling snap. The lilac darkened. And the storm / came bounding in from the meadows / with a sheaf of lightning flashes / to light the office windows. And wh...»
«And then summer bid farewell / To the station. Taking off its cap, / Thunder took as a souvenir / A hundred blinding photos of night. A bunch of lilacs grew dim. At that / Moment the thunder, gathering an armful / Of lightning, attempted from the field / To illuminate town hall. And wh...»
«I was captivated straight away, / tired of the lies all around me, / by that proud, tragic tale / of a warrior’s death in the mountains. / / And it may have been Roland’s horn / that called me, like Charlemagne, / to a silent pass where the boldest / of many bold fighters lay sl...»
«Our court nightingale, / beak open wide, / can let out the loudest / trills in the world. The creature is stunning / by what pours from his throat – / but it was he who spurred / Derzhavin to write that praise and flattery / are by no means the same: / a slave can flatter / but...»