Sergey Esenin
Song about a dog

In the barn corner early one morning,
Where rush matting covers bare earth,
А bitch to a litter of seven
Small reddish-brown puppies gave birth.

All day until dusk she fondled them
With her tongue going to and fro,
In the warmth of her underbelly
The snowflakes would melt and flow.

But when dusk fell and the fowls took
Their places on perch and rack
The farmer came out and scowling
Put the puppies into a sack.

The bitch ran over the snowdrifts,
Keeping up with his measured рace…
And ripples long after quivered
On the pond's ice-free surface.

And as the bitch homeward tottered,
Licking sweat from flanks that steamed,
The moon shining over the cottage
Was one of her puppies, it seemed.

And fixing on deep-blue heaven
Her steady gaze she whined
And the slender moon went floating off
Over the far hillside.

And dully, as when they'd throw her
Not bread but a stone for a lark,
The eyes of the bitch went rolling
ln the snow like golden stars.

Translated by Peter Tempest