Rosary: Poetry of Anna Akhmatova (8 page)

1914

***

"Горят твои ладони,
В ушах пасхальный звон,
Ты, как святой Антоний,
Виденьем искушен".
"Зачем во дни святые
Ворвался день один,
Как волосы густые
Безумных Магдалин".
"Так любят только дети,
И то лишь первый раз".
"Сильней всего на свете
Лучи спокойных глаз".
"То дьявольские сети,
Нечистая тоска".
"Белей всего на свете
Была ее рука".

1915

***

“Your palms are fiery,

The Easter bells ring loud,

You’re tempted, like St. Anthony,

By visions all around.”

“How was such day’s affair

Mixed with the holy days,

Like thick and tangled hair

Of Magdalenes half-crazed.”

“Thus only children love,

Just once, and then it dies.”

“No light is strong enough -

To match those tranquil eyes."

“This is the devil’s bluff,

Such longing - an offense.”

“No white is white enough -

To match that of her hands.”

1915

***

Будешь жить, не зная лиха,
Править и судить,
Со своей подругой тихой
Сыновей растить.
И во всем тебе удача,
Ото всех почет,
Ты не знай, что я от плача
Дням теряю счет.
Много нас таких бездомных,
Сила наша в том,
Что для нас, слепых и темных,
Светел божий дом,
И для нас, склоненных долу,
Алтари горят,
Наши к божьему престолу
Голоса летят.

1915

***

You’ll live happy, evil-free,

You will judge and reign,

With your darling you will see

All that your sons attain.

You’ll succeed without trying,

Get respect and praise,

You won’t know that I’m, from crying,

Losing track of days.

There are many homeless, slighted,

But we’re full of might,

For the blind and benighted

Paradise is bright.

And for those, down in the vale,

Altars sizzle hot,

And our voices will prevail

Soaring up to God.

1915

Anna Akhmatova
(June 23, 1889 - March 5, 1966) is considered by many to be one of the greatest Russian poets of the Silver Age. One of the forefront leaders of the Acmeism movement, which focused on rigorous form and directness of words, she was a master of conveying raw emotion in her portrayals of everyday situations. Her works range from short lyric love poetry to longer, more complex cycles, such as Requiem, a tragic depiction of the Stalinist terror. During the time of heavy censorship and persecution, her poetry gave voice to the Russian people. To this day, she remains one of Russia’s most beloved poets and has left a lasting impression on generations of poets that came after her.

My hope is that this book will lead you to explore my other books of Russian poetry translations. For a full-list of my books, see the following page.

If you enjoyed my work and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short review. Your help in spreading the word is gratefully received.

Also, I would like to invite you to visit my new website dedicated to Russian poetry translations:
Discernible Sound
. As always don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions and/or comments.

Sincerely,

Andrey Kneller

Evening: Poetry of Anna Akhmatova

White Flock: Poetry of Anna Akhmatova

Final Meeting: Selected Poetry of Anna Akhmatova

Wondrous Moment: Selected Poetry of Alexander Pushkin

My Poems: Selected Poetry of Marina Tsvetaeva

Backbone Flute: Selected Poetry of Vladimir Mayakovsky

February: Selected Poetry of Boris Pasternak

The Stranger: Selected Poetry of Alexander Blok

Unfinished Flight: Selected Poetry of Vladimir Vysotsky

O, Time…: Selected Poetry of Victoria Roshe

Discernible Sound: Selected Poetry