http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mandelst.htm

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/russian//mandelstam

Acmeist

*

Emil Veniaminovich

Mandelstam

"Perhaps my whisper was already born before my lips." *

Flora Osipovna Verblovskaya

Vilno

Tenishev

School

'Poets Guild'

Apollon

Kamen

(Ston,

Tristia

Stikhotvorenia

*

Yakov Blyumkin

Lunacharskii Anatoly

Nadezhda Iokovlevna Khazin

"I have studied science of saying good-bye / in bareheaded laments at night" *

Upton Sinclair

Jules Romains

Charles de Coster

*

Khlebnikov

**

Journey to Armenia

***

****

"The place where I have my rendezvous with the State." **

We live, not feeling the earth beneath us *** At ten paces our words evaporate.

But when there s the will to crack open our mouths our words orbit the Kremlin mountain man.

Murderer, peasant killer. (in 'Stalin,' 1934)

He rolls the liquidations on his tongue like berries **** delicacies for the barrel-chested Georgian.

Cherdyn

Ural

Voronezh

*

Natasha

Shtempel

To accompany the resurrected and to be the firstTo welcome the dead is their vocation. And to demand caresses from them is criminal.

"He thinks in bone and feels with his brow / And tries to recall his human form" *

Nikolay Shivarov

Gulag

Archipelago Vtoraia rechka

Vladivostok

Central Asian State University

Hope Against Hope

Hope Abandoned

Voronez poems

Conversations about Dante

compare

Descartes

Troezen

1. How hard for me, the splendor of this crown and robe

-- How hard for me, the splendor of this crown and robe, amidst my shame --

-- In stony Troezen will be an infamous calamity, the royal staircase will grow red with disgrace, 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and for the mother in love, the black sun will rise.

1. Kak etix pokryval i etogo ubora

-- Kak etix pokryval i etogo ubora Mne pyshnost' tjazhela sred' moego pozora!

-- Budet v kamennoj Trezene Znamenitaja beda, Carskoj lestnicy stupeni Pokrasnejut ot styda, 5............................... ............................... I dlja materi vljublennoj Solnce chernoe vzojdet.

Phedre

Hippolytus

Theseus

-- O, if hate would boil in my breast --

10but see, the admission itself

has fallen from my lips.

burns in a black flame [*]Phedre --

in broad daylight.

The funeral torch fumes

15in broad white daylight.

Dread your mother, Hippolytus:

Phedre -- night -- watche s over you

in broad white day.

-- I have stained the sun with black love . . .

20Death from a bottle will cool my ardor --

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

-- We are afraid, we do not dare

relieve the king's grief.

Wounded by Theseus, night

25fell upon him. But we,

-- O, esli b nenavist' v grudi moej kipela, -- 10No, vidite, samo preznan'e s ust sletelo.

-- Chernym plamenem Fedra gorit Sredi belogo dnja. Pogrebal'nyj fakel chadit Sredi belogo dnja. 15Bojsja materi ty, Ippolit: Fedra -- noch' -- tebja storozhit Sredi belogo dnja.

-- Ljubov'ju chernoju ja solnce zapjatnala...

.--...............................

-- My boimsja, my ne smeem Gorju carskomu pomoch'. Ujazvlennaja Tezeem, Na nego napala noch'. 25My zhe, pesn'ju poxoronnoj

with a funeral song bringing home the dead, will pacify the black sun

of wild and sleepless passion.

Provozhaja mertvyx v dom,

Strasti dikoj i bessonnoj

Solnce chernoe ujmem.

1916 phedre:

The scene here is most likely taken from Racine's Phedre, ('Que ces vains ornements, que ces voiles me pèsent.') and not directly from Euripides' Hippolytus. See Phedre, Sc. III.

Salamis

2. The Greeks planned for war

The Greeks planned for war

. [*]On the delightful island of Salamis

From the harbor of Athens, you could see it

Seized by the enemy's hand.

5And now our friends the islanders

Are fitting out our ships.

Earlier the English didn't love

The sweet European soil.

2. Sobiralis' elliny vojnoju

Sobiralis' elliny vojnoju

Na prelestnyj ostrov Salamin.

On, ottorgnut vrazheskoj rukoju,

Viden byl iz gavani Afin.

5A teper' druz'ja-ostrovitjane

Snarjazhajut nashi korabli.

Ne ljubili ran'she anglichane

Evropejskoj sladostnoj zemli.salamis:

Salamis: Ajax accompanied the Greeks with twelve Salaminian ships to the Trojan War.

AcropolisPireus

O, Europe, new Hellas,

10Save the Acropolis and Pireus.

We do not need the island's gifts,

A forest of uninvited ships.

O, Evropa, novaja Ellada,

10Oxranjaj Akropol' i Pirej.

Nam podarkov s ostrova ne nado,

Celyj les nezvanyx korablej.

1916

3. Not believing in the Resurrection

I

Not believing in the Resurrection, we strolled in the cemetery. -- You know, the earth everywhere reminds me of those hills 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . where Russia breaks off above the black, deaf sea.

3. Ne verja voskresen'ja chudu

I

Ne verja voskresen'ja chudu, Na kladbishche guljali my. -- Ty znaesh', mne zemlja povsjudu Napominaet te xolmy 5............................... ............................... Gde obryvaetsja Rossija Nad morem chernym i gluxim.

Vladimir

Taurides

II

The broad meadow runs away 10from the monastery's slopes. I really didn't want to go so far south of Vladimir's expanse, but to stay in this wooded, dark, and holy foolish [*]

place with such a dizzy nun 15means disaster is in store [*].

III

I kiss the sunburned elbow

and a waxen patch of forehead.

I know it is still white

under the tawny golden locks.

20I kiss the wrist where a bracelet

has left a white band.

][*The flaming summer of the Taurides

causes such marvels.

II

Ot monastyrskix kosogorov 10Shirokij ubegaet lug. Mne ot vladimirskix prostorov Tak ne xotelosja na jug, No v etoj temnoj, derevjannoj I jurodivoj slobode S takoj monashkoju tumannoj 15Ostat'sja -- znachit, byt' bede.

III

Celuju lokot' zagorelyj I lba kusochek voskovoj. Ja znaju -- on ostalsja belyj Pod smugloj prjad'ju zolotoj. 20Celuju kist', gde ot brasleta Eshche beleet polosa. Tavridy plamennoe leto Tvorit takie chudesa.

yurodivyj:

The original Russian yurodivyj is often applied to a special class of people in Russian medieval society, the so-called "holy fools". So the craziness being implied here is deemed to be of this sacred sort. The 'place' being referred to is a sloboda, a type of settlement or village exempted from normal State obligations.

bytbede:

The original Russian byt' bede is a special dative construction meaning 'there will be (it is fated to be) disaster or trouble'. This construction is used by Pushkin in Boris Godunov.

taurides:

Taurides: a mountain range in Turkey near the Black Sea. [*****See also the poem beginning "The thick golden stream of honey . . ." (p.35)*****]

IV

How quickly you tanned,

25came up and kissed the poor Savior,

couldn't tear yourself away --

but in Moscow, you were proud.

Only the name is left for us --

a marvelous, drawn-out sound.

30Take this sand being poured

with my hands.

IV

Kak skoro ty smugljankoj stala 25I k Spasu bednomu prishla, Ne otryvajas' celovala, A gordoju v Moskve byla. Nam ostaetsja tol'ko imja: Chudesnyj zvuk, na dolgij srok. 30Primi zh ladonjami moimi Peresypaemyj pesok.

1916

Baiu, baiushki, baiu...

4. This night is beyond recall

This night is beyond recall,

But it is still bright at your place.

At the gates of Jerusalem,

The black sun has risen.

5The yellow sun is more fearful --

Baiu, baiushki, baiu...

In a bright temple, the Jews

Have buried my mother.

4. Eta noch' nepopravima

Eta noch' nepopravima,

A u vas eshche svetlo.

U vorot Erusalima

Solnce chernoe vzoshlo.

5Solnce zheltoe strashnee.

Baju, bajushki, baju,

V svetlom xrame Iudei

Xoronili mat' moju.

Not having Grace,

10Deprived of priesthood,

The Jews, in a bright temple,

Chanted over the woman's ashes.

And the voices of the Israelites

Rose above the mother.

15I awoke in a cradle, shone upon

By a black sun.

Blagodati ne imeja

10I svjashchenstva lisheny,

V svetlom xrame Iudei

Otpevali prax zheny.

I nad mater'ju zveneli

Golosa izrail'tjan.

15-- Ja prosnulsja v kolybeli,

Chernym solncem osijan.

1916

Rhine

Valhalla

5. When on the squares and in solitary silence

When on the squares and in solitary silence

We slowly go out of our minds,

Brutal winter will offer us

Cold and clear Rhine wine.

5The frost offers us in a silver pail

The white wine of Valhalla,

And for us it recalls

A clear image of a northern man.

5. Kogda na ploshchadjax i v tishine kelejnoj

Kogda na ploshchadjax i v tishine kelejnoj

My sxodim medlenno s uma,

Xolodnogo i chistogo rejnvejna

Predlozhit nam zhestokaja zima.

5V serebrjanom vedre nam predlagaet stuzha

Valgally beloe vino,

I svetlyj obraz severnogo muzha

Napominaet nam ono.

are rude, [*]But northern skalds

10Don't know the joy of the game,

And to northern troops are dear

Amber, feasts and flames.

They only dream of the southern air,

The magic of a foreign sky.

15-- Nevertheless the stubborn friend

Still refuses to try.

No severnye skal'dy gruby,

10Ne znajut radostej igry,

I severnym druzhinam ljuby

Jantar', pozhary i piry.

Im tol'ko snitsja vozdux juga --

Chuzhogo neba volshebstvo, --

15I vse-taki uprjamaja podruga

Otkazhetsja poprobovat' ego.1917

skalds:

Note about skalds (Scandinavian singers?) here

6. Your marvelous pronunciation

Your marvelous pronunciation --

The scorching whistle of birds of prey;

Or should I say: a living impression

Of some sort of silken eyelashes.

5-- What? -- your head grew heavy...

-- Alright? -- I am calling you.

And in the distance, rustling:

I, too, live on earth.

6. Tvoe chudesnoe proiznoshen'e

Tvoe chudesnoe proiznoshen'e,

Gorjachij posvist xishchnyx ptits,

Skazhu l' -- zhivoe vpechatlen'e

. [*]helkovyx resnits to s-Kakix

5"Chto" -- golova otjazhelela...

zovu. Eto ja tebja -- [*]"Vo"

I daleko proshelestelo:

Ja tozhe na zemle zhivu.

bezumnoj:

(Moscow 1990) has the adjective bezumnoj, 'senseless', instead of zverinjoj, 'savage'. co:

What?/Alright? (Russ. Shto/Vo?): in the Struve & Filippov edition these lines begin "Shto?"/"Co?" which are different pronunciations of the word for 'what' in Russian and Polish (or Ukrainian), respectively. "Vo," on the other hand, is a colloquialism meaning something like 'Alright!'.

Let them say love has wings.

10Death has a hundred more;

My soul is filled with strife,

But our lips fly to it.

So much air and silk and

Wind in your whisper,

15Like blind men, through the long night

We drink a sunless mixture.

Pust' govorjat: ljubov' krylata. 10Smert' okrylennee stokrat. Eshche dusha bor'boj ob"jata, A nashi guby k nej letjat.

I stol'ko vozduxa, i shelka I vetra v shopote tvoem, 15I, kak slepye, noch'ju dolgoj My smes' bessolnechnuju p'em.

1918

TRISTIA

1

Science of departures

7. TRISTIA

1

I've learned the science of parting In the laments of night, her hair let down. Oxen graze, and the waiting's drawn out. It is the last hour of the town's vigil [*], and I 5Observe the ritual of that night of the cock When, lifting their load of wandering sorrow, Exhausted eyes gazed into the distance, And a woman's lament and muse's song combined.

7. TRISTIA

1

Ja izuchil nauku razstavan'ja V prostovolosyx zhalobax nochnyx. Zhujut voly, i dlitsja ozhidanzhe, Poslednij chas veselij [*]

gorodskix, 5I chtu obrjad toj petushinoj nochi, Kogda, podnjav dorozhnoj skorbi gruz, Gljadeli v dal' zaplakannye ochi, I zhenskij plach meshalsja s pen'em muz.

vigilij:

(Moscow 1990) has the phrase vigilij gorodskix, 'of the town's vigil'

2

Acropolis

3

Delia

2

Who can know, at the word "farewell," 10What separation awaits us, What the cockscrow augurs When fire glows in the Acropolis, And on the dawn of some new life, While an ox chews lazily in his shed, 15Why the cock, herald of new life, Beats his wings on the town's walls?

3

And I love the practice of spinning: Shuttle weaves, spindle buzzes, Look how barefoot Delia flies 20To meet you, like swansdown. Oh, the meager warp of our life, How thin the language of joy! Everything was of old, all will be again, Only the instant of recognition is sweet to us.

2

Kto mozhet znat' pri slove -- rasstavan'e, 10Kakaja nam razluka predstoit, Chto nam sulit petush'e vosklican'e, Kogda ogon' v Akropole gorit, I na zare kakoj-to novoj zhizni, Kogda v senjax lenivo vol zhuet, 15Zachem petux, glashataj novoj zhizni, Na gorodskoj stene krylami b'et?

3

I ja ljublju obyknoven'e prjazhi, Snuet chelnok, vereteno zhuzhzhit. Smotri, navstrechu, slovno pux lebjazhij, 20Uzhe bosaja Delija letit. O, nashej zhizni skudnaja osnova, Kuda kak beden radosti jazyk! Vse bylo vstar', vse povtoritsja snova, I sladok nam lish' uznavan'ja mig.

Grecian Erebus

4

25So be it: a transparent figure

Lies on a clean earthen dish,

Like the spread pelt of a squirrel,

, the girl stares, [*]Bowing over the wax

We cannot tell the fortunes of Grecian Erebus,

30Wax is for women what bronze is for men.

Our fate slips out only in battle,

But they get to die telling fortunes.

4

25Da budet tak: prozrachnaja figurka Na chistom bljude glinjanom lezhit, Kak belich'ja rasplastannaja shkurka, Sklonjas' nad voskom, devushka gljadit. Ne nam gadat' o grecheskom Erebe, 30Dlja zhenshchin vosk, chto dlja muzhchiny med. Nam tol'ko v bitvax vypadaet zhrebij, A im dano gadaja umeret'.

1918wax:

wax:A Slavic method of divination was the spilling of molten wax or lead into cold water. Its final, cooled-off shape would then be interpreted.

1

2

8. In a crystal whirlpool, such steepness!

1

In a crystal whirlpool, such steepness! Behind us the sienna mountains stand out, Jagged cathedrals of raving mad cliffs Are suspended in the air, Where there is wool and silence.

2

5From the hanging staircase of prophets and kings, Descends an organ, the fortress of the Holy Ghost, The brave barking and gentle ferocity of sheepdogs, The sheepskins of shepherds, and the staffs of judges.

8. V xrustal'nom omute kakaja krutizna!

1

V xrustal'nom omute kakaja krutizna! Za nas sienskie predstatel'stvujut gory,

I sumasshedshix skal koljuchie sobory

Povisli v vozduxe, gde sherst' i tishina.

2

5S visjachej lestnicy prorokov i carej Spuskaetsja organ, svjatogo duxa krepost', Ovcharok bodryj laj i dobraja svirepost', Ovchiny pastuxov i posoxi sudej.

3

Christianity

Credo

apostolic

4

Christian

3

Here is motionless ground, and along with it

10I drink the cold mountain air of Christianity, The abrupt Credo and the psalmist's pause, The keys and tatters of apostolic churches.

4

15What sort of line could deliver

Crystal high notes in the fortified ether,

And from the Christian mountains in the astounded space,

Grace descends, like a song of Palestine.

3

Vot nepodvizhnaja zemlja, i vmeste s nej 10Ja xristianstva p'ju xolodnyj gornyj vozdux, Krutoe Veruju i psalmopevca rozdyx, Kljuchi i rubishcha apostol'skix cerkvej.

4

15Kakaja linija mogla by peredat' Xrustal' vysokix not v efire ukreplennom, I s xristianskix gor v prostranstve izumlennom, Kak Palestiny pesn', nisxodit blagodat'.

1919

9. Nature's the same as Rome, was reflected in it

Nature's the same as Rome, was reflected in it.

We see images of its civic might

In the clear air, as in the sky-blue circus,

In the forum of fields, the colonnade of the grove.

5Nature is the same as Rome, again it seems We have no reason to trouble the gods.

We've got the viscera of the sacrifices

To tell the fortunes of war, and slaves

To keep the silence, and stones with which to build.

9. Priroda tot zhe Rim, i otrazilas' v nem

Priroda tot zhe Rim, i otrazilas' v nem.

My vidim obrazy ego grazhdanskoj moshchi

V prozrachnom vozduxe, kak v cirke golubom,

Na forume polej i v kolonnade roshchi.

5Priroda tot zhe Rim, i kazhetsja opjat'

Nam nezachem bogov naprasno bezpokoit',

Est' vnutrennosti zhertv, chtob o vojne gadat',

Raby, chtoby molchat', i kamni, chtoby stroit'.

10. To read only children's books

To read only children's books,

To have only childish thoughts,

To throw everything grown-up away,

To rise from deep sadness.

5I am deathly tired of life,

I will accept nothing from it.

But I love my poor land,

For I have seen no other.

10. Tol'ko detskie knigi chitat

Tol'ko detskie knigi chitat',

Tol'ko detskie dumy lelejat',

Vse bol'shoe daleko razvejat',

Iz glubokoj pechali vozstat'.

5Ja ot zhizni smertel'no ustal,

Nichego ot neja ne priemlju,

No ljublju moju bednuju zemlju,

Ottogo chto inoj ne vidal.

I rocked in a distant garden

10On a plain wooden swing,

Tall dark fir trees

I recall in a hazy fever.

Ja kachalsja v dalekom sadu

10Na prostoj derevjaannoj kacheli,

I vysokie temnye eli

Vspominaju v tumannom bredu.

1908

Leah

Ilion

11. Go back to the tainted lap, Leah

Go back to the tainted lap, Leah,

Whence you came,

Because to the sun of Ilion

You preferred yellow twilight.

5Go, no one will touch you,

Let the incestuous daughter

Drop her head on her father's breast

In the dead of night.

11. Vernis' v smesitel'noe lono

Vernis' v smesitel'noe lono,

Otkuda, Lija, ty prishla,

Za to, chto solncu Iliona

Ty zheltyj sumrak predpochla.

5Idi, nikto tebja ne tronet,

Na grud' otca, v gluxu[ noch',

Puskaj glavu svoju uronit

Krovosmesitel'nitca-doch'.

But the fatal change

10Must be fulfilled in you;

You shall be Leah -- not Helen --

Thus not betrothed,

For it is harder for a king's blood

To flow in the veins than another's --

15No, you will love a Jew,

You will vanish in him, and

God help you.

No rokovaja peremena 10V tebe ispolnit'sja dolzhna. Ty budesh' Lija -- ne Elena. Ne potomu narechena,

Chto carskoj krovi tjazhelee Struit'sja v zhilax, chem drugoj, -- 15Net, ty poljubish' iudeja, Ischeznesh' v nem -- i Bog s toboj.

1920

1

12. In Petersburg we'll meet again

1

In Petersburg we'll meet again, As though we'd buried the sun there, And for the first time utter The blessed, senseless word. 5In the black velvet of Soviet night, In the velvet of worldwide emptiness, The kind eyes of touched women still sing, The immortal flowers still bloom.

12. V Peterburge my sojdemsja snova

1

V Peterburge my sojdemsja snova, Slovno solnce my poxoronili v nem, I blazhennoe, bezsmyslennoe slovo V pervyj raz proiznesem. 5V chernom barxate sovetskoj nochi, V barxate vsemirnoj pustoty, Vse pojut blazhennyx zhen rodnye ochi, Vse cvetut bezsmertnye cvety.

2

3

Kypris

2

The capitol arches like a wildcat, 10A patrol is standing on the bridge, A single angry motor speeds by in the dark,

And cries out like a cuckoo. I do not need a pass for the evening, I am not afraid of the sentries: 15I will pray in the Soviet night For the blessed and senseless word.

3

I hear the theater's light rustling And a young girl's "Oh" -- In Kypris' [*]

arms, a huge bunch 20Of immortal roses. Out of boredom, we warm ourselves By a bonfire. Perhaps centuries will pass, And the kind hands of touched women Will gather up the light ashes.

2

Dikoj koshkoj gorbitsja stolica, 10Na mostu patrul' stoit, Tol'ko zloj motor vo mgle promchitsja I kukushkoj prokrichit. Mne ne nado propuska nochnogo, Chasovyx ja ne bojus': 15Za blazhennoe, bezsmyslennoe slovo Ja v nochi sovetskoj pomoljus'.

3

Slyshu legkij teatral'nyj shorox I devicheskoe "ax" -- I bezsmertnyx roz ogromnyj vorox 20U Kipridy na rukax. U kostra my greemsja ot skuki, Mozhet byt veka projdut, I blazhennyx zhen rodnye ruki Legkij pepel soberut.

kypris:

Kypris: Aphrodite (of Cyprus, one of the chief seats of worship of that goddess).

4

4

25Somewhere the red rows of the gallery,

The sumptuous chiffon of the boxes;

The clockwork-puppet of the officer;

Not for black souls or vile hypocrites . . .

Right. Put out, please, our candles

30In the black velvet of worldwide emptiness,

The sloped shoulders of blessed women still sing,

But you won't notice the night sun.

4

25Gde-to grjadki krasnye partera, Pyshno vzbity shifon'erki lozh; Zavodnaja kukla oficera; Ne dlja chernyx dush i nizmennyx svjatosh... Chto zh, gasi, pozhaluj, nashi svechi 30V chernom barxate vsemirnoj pustoty. Vse pojut blazhennyx zhen krutye plechi, A nochnogo solnca ne zametish' ty.

25 Nojabrja 1920 g.

13. The flame annihilates

The flame annihilates

My withered life,

Now it isn't stone

I sing, but wood.

5It is light and rough;

From a single piece come

The heart of the oak

And the fisherman's oars.

13. Unichtozhaet plamen

Unichtozhaet plamen'

Suxuju zhizn' moju,

I nyne ja ne kamen',

A derevo poju.

5Ono legko i grubo>

Iz odnogo kuska

I serdcevina duba,

I vesla rybaka

Drive the pilings tighter.

10Pound, you hammers,

About the wooden paradise

Where things are so much easier.

Vbivajte krepche svai,

10Stuchite, molotki,

O derevjannom rae,

Gde veshchi tak legki.

Titanic

14. An American girl of twenty

An American girl of twenty

Should reach Egypt,

Forgetting the advice from the Titanic,

Asleep on the bottom, gloomier than the crypt.

5In America the sirens sing,

And the smokestacks of red skyscrapers

Give back their sooty lips

To the cold clouds.

14. Amerikanka v dvadcat' let

Amerikanka v dvadcat' let

Dolzhna dobrat'sja do Egipta,

Zabyv Titanika sovet,

Chto spit na dne mrachnee kripta.

5V Amerike gudki pojut,

I krasnyx neboskrebov truby

Xolodnym tucham otdajut

Svoi prokopchennye guby.

Louvre

Acropolis

Faust

Louis

In the Louvre stands the ocean's daughter,

10Beautiful as a poplar,

To crush the sugary marble

Climbs on the Acropolis like a squirrel.

Understanding not a word,

She reads Faust in the carriage,

15And regrets that Louis

No longer holds the throne.

I v Luvre okeana doch'

10Stoit, prekrasnaja, kak topol',

Chtob mramor saxarnyj toloch',

Vlezaet belkoj na Akropol.

Ne ponimaja nichego,

Chitaet Fausta v vagone

15I sozhaleet, otchego

Ljudovik bol'she ne na trone.1913

15. Sisters -- Heaviness, Tenderness -- your signs are identical

Sisters -- Heaviness, Tenderness -- your signs are identical.

Bees and wasps suck the heavy rose.

A man dies, the heated sand grows cool, and Yesterday's sun is carried away on a black stretcher.

5Oh, heavy honeycombs, tender nets,

Easier to raise a stone than say the words, 'to love'!

I have one concern left on earth,

A golden one: to throw off time's yoke.

15. Sestry tjazhest' i nezhnost', odinakovy vashi primety

Sestry tjazhest' i nezhnost', odinakovy vashi primety.

Medunicy i osy tjazheluju rozu sosut,

Chelovek umiraet, pesok ostyvaet sogretyj,

I vcherashnee solnce na chernyx nosilkax nesut.

5Ax, tjazhelye soty i nezhnye seti,

Legche kamen' podnjat', chem vymolvit' , [*]ljubit' --slovo

U menja ostaetsja odna zabota na svete,

Zolotaja zabota, kak vremeni bremja izbyt'.

I drink the turbid air as if it were muddy water.

10Time is ploughed up, and the rose was the earth.

the [*]In a slow vortex, love has twined heavy,

Tender roses, the roses Heaviness and Tenderness,

Into double wreaths.

Slovno temnuju vodu, ja p'ju pomutivshijsja vozdux, 10Vremja vspaxano plugom, i roza zemleju byla, V medlennom vodovorote tjazhelye, nezhnye pozy, Rozy tjazhest' i nezhnost' v dvojnye venki zaplela.

1920

1

16. I want to serve you

1

I want to serve you On an equal footing with others; From jealousy, to tell your fortune With dry lips. The word does not slake 5My parched mouth, And without you, the dense air Is empty for me again.

16. Ja naravne s drugimi

1

Ja naravne s drugimi Xochu tebe sluzhit', Ot revnosti suximi Gubami vorozhit'. Ne utoljaet slovo 5Mne peresoxshix ust, I bez tebja mne snova Dremuchij vozdux pust.

2

3

2

I am not jealous anymore, 10But I want you, Alone I will take myself, Like a sacrifice, to the hangman. I will call you Neither joy, nor love; 15Some wild and strange blood Was switched with mine.

3

One more moment, And I will say to you: It is not joy, but torment 20I find in you. And, like a crime, I am drawn to you by Your tender cherry mouth Bitten in confusion.

2

Ja bol'she ne revnuju, 10No ja tebja xochu, I sam sebja nesu ja, Kak zhertvu, palachu. Tebja ne nazovu ja Ni radost', ni ljubov'; 15Na dikuju, chuzhuju, Mne podmenili krov'.

3

Eshche odno mgnoven'e, I ja skazhu tebe: Ne radost', a muchen'e 20Ja naxozhu v tebe. I, slovno prestuplenzhe, Menja k tebe vlechet Iskusannyj, v smjaten'i Vishnevyj nezhnyj rot.

4

4

25Return to me at once:

It is awful without you,

I have never felt

More strongly about you.

And in the midnight drama

30In dream or reality,

In alarm or languor,

I will call you.

4

25Vernis' ko mne skoree: Mne strashno bez tebja, Ja nikogda sil'nee Ne chuvstvoval tebja. I v polunoshchnoj drame [*], 30Vo sne il' na javu, V trevoge il' v istome -- No ja tebja zovu.

1920

17. I am sorry it is winter now

I am sorry it is winter now,

And you can't hear mosquitoes in the house, But you reminded yourself

Of the frivolous straw.

5The dragonflies hover in the blue sky,

And fashion twirls like a swallow;

A basket on the head,

Or a bombastic ode?

17. Mne zhalko, chto teper' zima

Mne zhalko, chto teper' zima,

I komarov ne slyshno v dome,

No ty napomnila sama

O legkomyslennoj solome.

5Strekozy v'jutsja v sineve,

I lastochkoj kruzhitsja moda,

Korzinochka na golove --

Ili napyshchennaja oda?

I don't presume to give advice

10And useless excuses,

But the taste of whipped cream

And the smell of oranges is forever.

You define everything without thinking,

And things are the worse for it.

15What can you do? The most sensitive mind

Is put wholly on the surface.

You try to beat the yolk

With an angry spoon.

It grew white, it succumbed.

[*]Yet just a little more. 20

In you everything teases, everything sings

Like an Italian roulade,

And a small cherry mouth

Demands some dry grapes.

Sovetovat' ja ne berus',

10I bezpolezny otgovorki,

No vzbityx slivok vechen vkus

I zapax apel'sinnoj korki.

Ty vse tolkuesh' naobum,

Ot etogo nichut' ne xuzhe.

15Chto delat': samyj nezhnyj um

Ves' pomeshchaetsja snaruzhi.

I ty pytaesh'sja zheltok

Vzbivat' razserzhennoju lozhkoj,

On pobelel, on iznemog --

[*]taki, eshche nemnozhko. -I vse20

V tebe vse draznit, vse poet,

Kak ital'janskaja rulada.

I malen'kij vishnevyj rot

Suxogo prosit vinograda.

bautta

25Don't try so hard to be smart,

In you everything is whimsy, fleeting,

And in the shadow from your cap,

A Venetian bautta.

25Tak ne starajsja byt umnej, V tebe vse prixot, vse minuta, V teni [*]

ot shapochki tvoej

Venecianskaja bauta

Dekabr' 1920

Psyche-Life

Persephone

]

Stygian [

18. As Psyche-Life goes down to the shades

As Psyche-Life goes down to the shades

In a translucent forest in Persephone's tracks,

A blind swallow falls at her feet

With Stygian tenderness and a green branch.

5The shades flock to meet the fugitive,

Welcome their new visitor with laments,

Wring their feeble hands before her

Bewildered and in timid hope.

18. Kogda Psixeja-zhizn' spuskaetsja k tenjam

Kogda Psixeja-zhizn' spuskaetsja k tenjam

V poluprozrachnyj les vosled za Persefonoj, Slepaja lastochka brosaetsja k nogam

S stigijskoj nezhnost'ju i vetkoju zelenoj.

5Navstrechu bezhenke speshit tolpa tenej,

Tovarku novuju vstrechaja prchitan'em,

I ruki slabye lomajut pered nej

S nedoumeniem i robkim upovan'em.

One holds a mirror, another a phial of perfume --

10The soul is a woman, fond of trifles

And the leafless forest is sprinkled with fine rain of

Laments, dry transparent voices.

And in the gentle confusion, not knowing what to begin,

The soul does not recognize the spectral wood,

15Breathes on the mirror, and hesitates to give The copper coin from the misty crossing.

Kto derzhit zerkalo [*], kto banochku duxov; 10Dusha ved' zhenshchina, ej nravjatsja bezdelki, I les bezlistvennyj prozrachnyx golosov Suxie shalosti [*]

kropjat, kak dozhdik melkij.

I v nezhnoj sutolke ne znaja, chto nachat', Dusha ne uznaet prozrachnye dubravy, 15Doxnet na zerkalo i medlit peredat' Lepeshku mednuju s tumannoj perepravy.

1920zerkalce:

(Moscow 1990) has zerkalce instead of zerkalo. zhaloby:

(Moscow 1990) has zhaloby instead of shalosti.

Persephone

19. Just for joy, take from my palms

Just for joy, take from my palms

A little sun, a little honey,

As Persephone's bees commanded.

An unfastened boat cannot be untied.

5A shade shod in fur cannot be heard.

In the dense forest of life fear cannot be overcome.

19. Voz'mi na radost' iz moix ladonej

Voz'mi na radost' iz moix ladonej

Nemnogo solnca i nemnogo meda,

Kak nam veleli pchely Persefony.

Ne otvjazat' neprikreplennoj lodki,

5Ne uslyxat' v mexa obutoj teni,

Ne prevozmoch' v dremuchej zhizni straxa.

Only kisses are left for us.

Furry, like small bees

That die when they leave the hive.

10They rustle in transparent thickets of night,

Their home is the dense Taiga woods;

Their food -- time, honeysuckle, mint.

So take and enjoy my passionate gift,

A dry, unsightly necklace

15Of dead bees, who changed honey into sun.

Nam ostajusja tol'ko pocelui, Moxnatye, kak malen'kie pchely, Chto umirajut, vyletev iz ul'ja.

10Oni shurshat v prozrachnyx debrjax nochi, Ix rodina -- dremuchij les Tajgeta, Ix pishcha -- vremja, medunica, mjata.

Voz'mi zh na radost' dikij moj podarok -- Nevzrachnoe suxoe ozherel'e 15Iz mertvyx pchel, med prevrativshix v solnce.

1920

20. THE TWILIGHT OF FREEDOM

1

Let us glorify, brothers, the twilight of freedom -- The great twilight year. A weighty forest of nets is lowered Into the bubbling waters of night. 5You are rising into desolate years, O sun, judge, people.

20. SUMERKI SVOBODY

1

Proslavim, brat'ja, sumerki svobody, Velikij sumerechnyj god. V kipjashchie nochnye vody Opushchen gruznyj les tenet. 5Vosxodish' ty v gluxie gody, O, solnce, sudija-narod.

2

Let us glorify the fateful burden, Which the nation's chief takes up in tears. Let us glorify the twilight burden of power,

10Its unbearable weight. Whoever has the heart should hear, time, How your ship is sinking.

3

We tied the swallows into battle legions And so, the sun's obscured; all of nature 15Warbles, whirls, lives; The dense twilight through the nets The sun's obscured, and the land sets sail.

2

Proslavim rokovoe bremja, Kotoroe v slezax narodnyj vozhd' beret. Proslavim vlasti sumrachnoe bremja, 10Ee nevynosimyj gnet. V kom serdce est', tot dolzhen slyshat', vremja, Kak tvoj korabl' ko dnu idet.

3

My v legiony boevye Svjazali lastochek, i vot Ne vidno solnca, vsja stixija 15Shchebechet, dvizhetsja, zhivet, Skvoz' seti sumerki gustye Ne vidno solnca, i zemlja plyvet.

Lethe

4

But still, let us try: an enormous, awkward,

Screeching turn of the wheel.

20The land is sailing. Take courage, men!

Dividing the ocean, like a plow,

We will recall even in Lethe's frost,

That our land cost ten heavens.

4

Nu, chto zh, poprobuem: ogromnyj, neukljuzhij,

Skripuchij povorot rulja.

20Zemlja plyvet. Muzhajtes', muzhi,

Kak plugom, okean delja,

My budem pomnit' i v letejskoj stuzhe,

Chto desjati nebes nam stoila zemlja1918

Petropolis

21. At a dreadful height, a wandering fire --

1

At a dreadful height, a wandering fire -- But does a star really flicker like that? Transparent star, wandering fire, Your brother, Petropolis, is dying.

2

5At a dreadful height, earthly dreams are burning, A green star is flying. O if you are star, the brother of water and sky, Your brother, Petropolis, is dying.

21. Na strashnoj vysote bluzhdajushchij ogon

1

Na strashnoj vysote bluzhdajushchij ogon', No razve tak zvezda mercaet? Prozrachnaja zvezda, bluzhdajushchij ogon',

Tvoj brat, Petropol', umiraet.

2

5Na strashnoj vysote zemnye sny gorjat, Zelenaja zvezda letaet. O, esli ty zvezda, -- vody i neba brat, Tvoj brat, Petropol', umiraet.

--

Neva

3

A monstrous ship flies at a dreadful height, 10Spreading its wings -- Green star, in beautiful poverty Your brother, Petropolis, is dying.

4

Above the black Neva, transparent Spring

Is smashed, the wax of immortality is melting.

15O if you are a star, Petropolis, your city,

your brother, Petropolis, is dying.

3

Chudovishchnyj korabl' na strashnoj vysote

10Nesetsja, kryl'ja raspravljaet. Zelenaja zvezda, v prekrasnoj nishchete Tvoj brat, Petropol', umiraet.

4

Prozrachnaja vesna nad chernoju Nevoj Slomalas'. Vosk bezsmert'ja taet. 15O, esli ty zvezda -- Petropol', gorod tvoj, Tvoj brat, Petropol', umiraet.

1918

22. SWALLOW

1

I have forgotten the word that I wanted to say.

On clipped wings the blind swallow will return To the hall of shadows, to play with the shades. A night song is sung in forgetfulness.

2

5You couldn't hear a bird. The immortelle doesn't bloom. A herd of night mares with transparent manes.

An empty canoe glides on a waterless river. The word is forgotten amidst the grasshoppers.

22. LASTOCHKA

1

Ja slovo pozabyl, chto ja xotel skazat': Slepaja lastochka v chertog tenej vernetsja Na kryl'jax srezannyx s prozrachnymi igrat'. V bezpamjatstve nochnaja pesn' poetsja.

2

5Ne slyshno ptic. Bezsmertnik ne cvetet, Prozrachny grivy tabuna nochnogo, V suxoj reke pustoj chelnok plyvet, Sredi kuznechnikov bezpamjactvuet slovo.

Antigone

][

Stygian

Aonides

][

3

And it grows slowly, like a temple or tent, 10And suddenly, like crazed Antigone, falls on its side, Or lands at the feet, like a dead swallow, With Stygian tenderness and a green branch.

4

O, if I could give back the disgrace of Fingers that see and the pronounced joy of recognition. 15I am so afraid of the Aonides' [*]

weeping, Of mist, ringing, the abyss.

5

Yet the power to love and recognize is given to mortals, For them even the sound pours through their fingers, But I forgot what I want to say, 20The intangible thought returns to the hall of shadows.

6

The transparency repeats the wrong thing,

Again and again: swallow, friend, Antigone. . .

But on the lips, like black ice, burns

The remembrance of a Stygian sound.

3

I medlenno rastet kak by shater il' xram,

10To vdrug prokinetsja bezumnoj Antigonoj, To mertvoj lastochkoj brosaetsja k nogam S stigijskoj nezhnost'ju i vetkoju zelenoj.

4

O, esli by vernut' i zrjachix pal'cev styd,

I vypukluju radost' uznavan'ja, 15Ja tak bojus' rydan'ja Aonid, Tumana, zvona i zijan'ja.

5

A smertnym vlast' dana ljubit' i uznavat',

Dlja nix i zvuk v persty prol'etsja, No ja zabyl, chto ja xochu skazat', 20I mysl' bezplotnaja v chertog tenej vernetsja.

6

Vse ne o tom prozrachnaja tverdit, Vse lastochka, podruzhka, Antigona, ... A na gubax, kak chernyj led, gorit Stigijskogo vospominan'e zvona.

1920aonides:

Aonides:The Muses, so-called because Mt. Helicon and the fountain of Aganippe were in Aonia.

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