A capricious, avaricious kind —
Like fire, the Russian mind is dire:
Irrepressible, lucidity for hire,
So gay — and gloom will always find.
Like an undeviating needle,
It sees the pole in ripples and murky still;
From abstract daydreams in life’s cradle
It shows the course for timorous will.
The way an eagle sees through fog
It examines all the valley’s dust,
It reflects sensibly about the earth
While bathing in dark mystical must.
Своеначальный, жадный ум, —
Как пламень, русский ум опасен
Так он неудержим, так ясен,
Так весел он — и так угрюм.
Подобный стрелке неуклонной,
Он видит полюс в зыбь и муть,
Он в жизнь от грезы отвлеченной
Пугливой воле кажет путь.
Как чрез туманы взор орлиный
Обслеживает прах долины,
Он здраво мыслит о земле,
В мистической купаясь мгле.
«I’m praying to the window ray — / It’s pallid, thin, exact. / I have not said a word all day, / Although my heart is cracked. / Over the years, my washstand’s color / Became a tint of green. / The playful ray upon its copper / Creates a pleasing scene. / So pure and simple to...»
«Out to the hall, I walked my lover / And in the golden dust I stopped / And from the nearby belfry tower / The solemn sounds echoed up. / I’m left behind! A made-up phrase — / A bloom, a letter? But, alas, / The eyes already sternly gaze / Into the darkened cheval glass. »
«Will you forgive me these November days? / Lights flicker in the Neva’s waterways. / The tragic autumn’s meager decorations.»
«It’s not your love I seek tonight. / It’s in a safe place now, it’s hidden… / Believe me that I haven’t written / Resentful letters to your bride. / But take this sensible suggestion: / Give her my poetry to read, / Give her my portraits for protection — / The groom must al...»