Pursued by howling foes,
I run a mortal race;
The newly fallen snow
Is so nice for chase.
The hooting, tally-ho'ing
Surrounds me, high-pitched.
Saliva bubbles and foams in
The jaws of an old bitch.
The world of rimy snouts,
Of canine bloodshot eyes,
They all are so proud,
The hound's role is prized.
And setting back my ears,
I run for life, half slain
By suffocating fear
Amidst the shining plain.
I'm running, running, running,
But know all the same:
It ends my life, this funny,
This ancient hunting game.
Свой дом родимый брошу,
Бегу, едва дыша;
По первой по пороше
Охота хороша.
Мир будет улюлюкать:
Ату его, ату...
Слюна у старой суки
Пузырится во рту.
Мир песьих, красноглазых,
Заиндевевших морд,
Где каждый до отказа
Собачьей ролью горд.
И я, прижавши уши,
Бегу, бегу, бегу,
И сердце душит душу
В блистающем снегу.
И в вое кобелином,
Гудящем за спиной,
Игрой такой старинной
Закончу путь земной.
«When learning of the tolls of war, / Of yet another battle victim, / 'Tis not his wife, nor comrades, nor / The very hero whom I pity... / Alas! Time will console the wife, / Fraternities – forget their member. / But for as long as 'tis alive, / One soul will constantly remember. / ...»
«A silver sail, the ocean loner, / Is lurking in the azure mist. / What has she lost in foreign corners? / What in her homeland did she miss? Her mast is clattering and bending / Midst whistling wind and raging wave. / Alas, she seeks no happy ending, / Nor runs from happiness away. ...»
«Love! Precious love! And from the deathbed silence / I'll come alive — allured — abashed — alight. / O, sweetheart! Even in a grave asylum, / And in Elysium we'll stay allied. And do indeed I have this pair of priceless / Strong wings — to hold a bushel on my heart? / The swadd...»
«To our fortune or misfortune, / Simple is the truth: / One shall not revisit porches / Left behind in youth. / Even if we find our mecca / Perfectly alright, / We won't hear the sought-for echo, / Neither you nor I. I would travels to the former / Once for all forbid. / And, my...»