Radiant ranks of seraphim
Stir the air about our bed.
With their windy wings and dim
Our hot cheeks are comforted.
Low the circling seraphs bend,
And we tremble and rejoice
At hosannas that ascend,
Winged with their unearthly voice.
Cloudy luminous faces hover,
And the wing-swept candles wane.
And our fiery breasts they cover
As with hidden holy rain.
Серафимов вереницы
Наше ложе окружили.
Веют в пламенные лица
Тихим холодом воскрылий.
Серафимы полукругом
Наклонились к изголовью;
Внемлем с радостным испугом
Неземному славословью.
Реют лики светлым дымом,
И крылами гасят свечи,
И кропят дождем незримым
Наши огненные плечи.
«A far-off time arises in my memory, / The house in the Petersburg Quarters, / A humble daughter of the modest gentry, / Born in Kursk, you are here taking courses. You are cute, — you have many admirers. / This white night, it is only us two, / Sprawling out on your windowsill, tireless...»
«Onto my barely living chest, / The stone of the verdict fell. / But I was ready for this test, / Somehow, I’ll bear this hell. So much that I must do alone: / I’ll start by erasing the past, / I’ll turn my living soul to stone, / And learn to live, at last. Or else... The summer,...»
«I loved you, and that love to die refusing, / May still — who knows! Be smoldering in my breast. / Pray, be not pained — believe me, of my choosing / I’d never have you troubled nor yet distressed. I loved you mutely, hopelessly and truly, / With shy yet fervent, tenderness aglow; / ...»
«I loved you; and I probably still do, / And for awhile the feeling may remain — / But let my love no longer trouble you: / I do not wish to cause you any pain. I loved you; and the hopelessness I knew / The jealousy, the shyness — though in vain — / Made up a love so tender and so t...»