I seek for rhythmic whisperings
Where noises bandy —
For life I listen wistfully
In footless banter.
I cast wide nets and tentative
In lakes of sorrow.
I go toward final tenderness
By pathways sordid.
I look for dewdrops glistering
In falsehood's gardens.
I save truth's globules glistening,
From dust-heaps garnered.
I fain would fathom fortitude
Through years of wormwood —
And pierce the mortal fortalice,
Yet live, a worldling.
My cup, through ways impassable,
To bear, untainted;
By tenebrous bleak passages
To joy attaining.
Ищу напевных ше-
потов
В несвязном шу-
ме,
Ловлю живые шо-
рохи
В ненужной шу-
тке.
Закидываю не-
воды
В озера гру-
сти,
Иду к последней не-
жности
Сквозь пыль и гру-
бость.
Ищу росинок ис-
кристых
В садах непра-
вды,
Храню их в чаше ис-
тины,
Беру из пра-
ха.
Хочу коснуться сме-
лаго
Чрез горечь жи-
зни.
Хочу прорезать сме-
ртное
И знать, что жив -
я.
Меж цепкого и ле-
пкого
Скользнуть бы с ча-
шей.
По самой темной ле-
стнице
Дойти до сча-
стья.
«Under the willow, wound with ivy, / we shelter from the storm. / A greatcoat covers our shoulders, / my arms, to keep you warm. / I’m wrong. The trees in this wood / are circled with hops not ivy. / Better to spread the coat / on the ground, here, beneath me. »
«Spring bursts violently / into Moscow houses. / Moths flutter about / crawl on summer hats, / and furs hide secretly. Pots of wallflowers and stock / stand, in the window, just, / of wooden second storeys, / the rooms breathe liberty, / the smell of attics is dust. The street is fr...»
«Snow is falling: snow is falling. / Geranium flowers reach / for the blizzard’s small white stars / past the window’s edge. Snow is falling, all is lost, / the whole world’s streaming past: / the flight of steps on the back stairs, / the corner where roads cross. Snow is falling:...»
«1. And with her only I sailed to ocean, / And with her only I left the shore, / And with her only I was far away, / And with her only I forgot my relatives... Oh, the red sail / In the green distance! / The black bugles, / On the dark shawl twinkling! And he is going from a gloomy lun...»