Vyacheslav Ivanov
The russian mind

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.

Translated by Albert C. Todd