s, a Gaiety --
Then swallowed up, of View.
1861
243
YA znayu -- Nebo, kak shater,
Svernut kogda-nibud',
Pogruzyat v cirkovoj furgon
I tiho tronut v put'.
Ni perestuka molotkov,
Ni skrezheta gvozdej --
Uehal cirk -- i gde teper'
On raduet lyudej?
I to, chto uvlekalo nas
I teshilo vchera --
Areny osveshchennyj krug,
I blesk, i mishura, --
Razveyalis' i uneslis',
Ischezli bez sleda --
Kak ptic osennij karavan,
Kak oblakov gryada.
Perevod A. Gavrilova
248
Why -- do they shut Me out of Heaven?
Did I sing -- too loud?
But -- I can say a little "Minor"
Timid as a Bird!
Wouldn't the Angels try me --
Just -- once -- more --
Just -- see -- if I troubled them --
But don't -- shut the door!
Oh, if I -- were the Gentleman
In the "White Robe" --
And they -- were the little Hand -- that knocked --
Could -- I -- forbid?
1861
248
Pochemu menya na nebe --
Angely -- ne slyshat?
Slishkom gromko ya poyu?
Mozhno -- tishe!
Vot by angely menya
Ispytali
Vyslushat' vpolne mogli,
No ne stali.
Esli b ya byla muzhchinoj --
v "Beloj robe"
Ne bylo b otkaza mne
V etoj probe.
Perevod L. Sitnika
266
This -- is the land -- the Sunset washes --
These -- are the Banks of the Yellow Sea --
Where it rose -- or whither it rushes --
These -- are the Western Mystery!
Night after Night
Her purple traffic
Strews the landing with Opal Bales --
Merchantmen -- poise upon Horizons --
Dip -- and vanish like Orioles!
1861
266
Zemlya, chej bereg omyvayut
Zakata ZHeltye Morya;
Ona rastet i otlivaet,
Zagadkoj zapada gorya!
Iz nochi v noch' chredoj purpurnoj
Syuda stremyatsya parusa
Svalit' opalovye gruzy
I rastvorit'sya v nebesah.
Perevod YA. Bergera
275
Doubt Me! My Dim Companion!
Why, God, would be content
With but a fraction of the Life --
Poured thee, without a stint --
The whole of me -- forever --
What more the Woman can,
Say quick, that I may dower thee
With last Delight I own!
It cannot be my Spirit --
For that was thine, before --
I ceded all of Dust I knew --
What Opulence the more
Had I -- a freckled Maiden,
Whose farthest of Degree,
Was -- that she might --
Some distant Heaven,
Dwell timidly, with thee!
Sift her, from Brow to Barefoot!
Strain till your last Surmise --
Drop, like a Tapestry, away,
Before the Fire's Eyes --
Winnow her finest fondness --
But hallow just the snow
Intact, in Everlasting flake --
Oh, Caviler, for you!
1861
275
Ne verish' mne, moj strannyj drug!
Pover'! Ved' dazhe Bog
Krupicej ot takoj lyubvi
Dovolen byt' by mog.
Lish' vsyu sebya i navsegda --
CHto zhenshchina eshche
Sposobna dat', skazhi, chtob ya
Mogla prinyat' v raschet!
To ne dusha moya -- ona
Byla tvoej vsegda;
YA ustupila ves' svoj prah, --
Kakih eshche nagrad
Ne poluchil ty ot menya,
Kakoj eshche sud'boj
Gordit'sya deve, krome kak
Na nekih dal'nih nebesah,
Smirenno zhit' s toboj!
Prover' ee, sozhni ee,
Prosej ot lba do pyat,
I vse somneniya tvoi
V ee ogne sgoryat.
Razvej vsyu nezhnost', vse teplo,
Vsyu legkost' ee neg,
I ty poluchish' ledyanoj
I vechno chistyj sneg.
Perevod L. Sitnika
280
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading -- treading -- till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through --
And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum --
Kept beating -- beating -- till I thought
My Mind was going numb --
And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space -- began to toll,
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race
Wrecked, solitary, here --
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down --
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing -- then --
1861
280
Zvuk pohoron v moem mozgu,
I lyudi v chernom tam
Vse hodyat -- hodyat -- za moim
Rassudku popyatam.
No lish' usyadutsya oni,
Kak sluzhby mernyj boj --
Stuchit -- stuchit -- kak baraban --
Nad samoj golovoj.
I slyshu -- yashchik podnyali,
I skrip -- terpet' net sil --
Ih kozhanyh sapog voznik --
I mir -- zagolosil,
Kak budto nebo -- kolokol,
A sushchestvo -- lish' uho,
I ya, i tish' raskoloty,
I stranen put' -- i ruhnul
Togda rassudok slomlennyj,
I ya lechu vse vniz -- i vniz --
I b'yus' o mir, i, kazhdyj raz,
V soznanii, ostavlyayu zhizn'
Perevod L. Sitnika
289
I know some lonely Houses off the Road
A Robber'd like the look of --
Wooden barred,
And Windows hanging low,
Inviting to --
A Portico,
Where two could creep --
One -- hand the Tools --
The other peep --
To make sure All's Asleep --
Old fashioned eyes --
Not easy to surprise!
How orderly the Kitchen'd look, by night,
With just a Clock --
But they could gag the Tick --
And Mice won't bark --
And so the Walls -- don't tell --
None -- will --
A pair of Spectacles ajar just stir --
An Almanac's aware --
Was it the Mat -- winked,
Or a Nervous Star?
The Moon -- slides down the stair,
To see who's there!
There's plunder -- where
Tankard, or Spoon --
Earring -- or Stone --
A Watch -- Some Ancient Brooch
To match the Grandmama --
Staid sleeping -- there --
Day -- rattles -- too
Stealth's -- slow --
The Sun has got as far
As the third Sycamore --
Screams Chanticleer,
"Who's there"?
And Echoes -- Trains away,
Sneer -- "Where"!
While the old Couple, just astir,
Fancy the Sunrise -- left the door ajar!
1861
289
Est' pustye doma v storone ot dorog,
Vid kotoryh priyaten lish' voru --
Zakolocheny doskami,
Okna smotryat ne vyshe nog,
Priglashaya zajti
Po puti
Na porog,
Gde dvoe natknutsya na dver' vzaperti.
Odin -- s otmychkoj -- lezet v dom,
Drugoj kositsya -- vse li spit krugom.
Staryj glaz novyj vid
Vryad li chem-nibud' udivit.
Kak strogo smotrit ryad posudy na kuhne,
No mebel' ne uhnet,
I steny ne zagovoryat,
I tol'ko chasy davyat svoj nervnyj tik,
CHtob ne narushit' tish',
I ne tyavknet mysh'.
Pereglyanulis' ochki -- kalendar' nastorozhe.
|to zerkalo korchit rozhi,
Ili sproson'ya migaet zvezda?
Luna, ne trevozha parketa,
Vhodit vzglyanut' -- kto eto
Vlez syuda.
Zdes' grabezh -- gde
Lozhki i nozh,
CHashki, kruzhki,
Ser'gi, kamni,
CHasy -- staraya brosh'
Spit na podushke.
Izdali den' grohochet,
Vpolzaya v okna.
Solnechnyj svet uzhe tam,
Gde tret'ya smokva.
I kochet hlopochet --
"Kto eto zdes'?"
I eho hohochet,
Draznya ego -- "Est'"!
A staraya para uhodit, zhmuryas' na svet,
I dver' priotkrytaya smotrit ej vsled.
Perevod L. Sitnika
303
The Soul selects her own Society --
Then -- shuts the Door --
To her divine Majority --
Present no more --
Unmoved -- she notes the Chariots -- pausing --
At her low Gate --
Unmoved -- an Emperor be kneeling
Upon her Mat --
I've known her -- from an ample nation --
Choose One --
Then -- close the Valves of her attention --
Like Stone --
1862
303
Dusha vybiraet obshchestvo --
I zapiraet dver',
K ee Svyashchennoj Osobe
Ne proniknut' teper'.
Ona nepodvizhna, kogda kolesnica
Stoit u vorot,
I Imperator na kovrike,
Stav na koleni, zhdet.
Ona iz prostogo naroda
Vyberet odnogo,
I budet darit' vnimaniem
Tol'ko ego.
Perevod L. Sitnika
318
I'll tell you how the Sun rose --
A Ribbon at a time --
The Steeples swam in Amethyst --
The news, like Squirrels, ran --
The Hills untied their Bonnets --
The Bobolinks -- begun --
Then I said softly to myself --
"That must have been the Sun"!
But how he set -- I know not --
There seemed a purple stile
That little Yellow boys and girls
Were climbing all the while --
Till when they reached the other side,
A Dominie in Gray --
Put gently up the evening Bars --
And led the flock away --
1861
318
YA rasskazhu vam, kak voshodit solnce.
Po vremenam -- lish' polosa
I bashnya v more ametista,
Gde kraski skachut belkami na nebesa
Po golovam holmov, podnyavshih shlyapy
Iz ptich'ih staj, -- i tiho ya sebe skazala:
"Dolzhno byt', eto solnce pokazalos'!"
No kak ono saditsya -- ya ne znayu --
Purpurnoj lesenkoj,
Kotoroj zheltye devchonki i mal'chishki
Karabkayutsya veselo.
No lish' toj storony oni dostignut,
Kak ih nastavnik v serom
Uvodit vsyu gur'bu --
I zapiraet dveri...
Perevod L. Sitnika
347
When Night is almost done --
And Sunrise grows so near
That we can touch the Spaces --
It's time to smooth the Hair --
And get the Dimples ready --
And wonder we could care
For that old -- faded Midnight --
That frightened -- but an Hour --
1862
347
K ishodu dolgoj nochi
Tak blizok stal rassvet,
CHto mozhno den' potrogat',
I straha bol'she net.
Puskaj zhe greben' v delo!
Mni yamochki v shchekah!
A polnoch' -- proletela,
I chas lish' dlilsya strah
Perevod YA. Bergera
377
To lose one's faith -- surpass
The loss of an Estate --
Because Estates can be
Replenished -- faith cannot --
Inherited with Life --
Belief -- but once -- can be --
Annihilate a single clause --
And Being's -- Beggary --
1862
377
Utratit' veru -- huzhe, chem
Imen'e poteryat',
Imen'e mozhno vozvratit',
No very -- ne zanyat'.
V nasledstvo vmeste s zhizn'yu
Ona daetsya raz.
Ty -- nishchij, esli tronesh'
Odnu iz etih fraz.
Perevod L. Sitnika
389
There's been a Death, in the Opposite House,
As lately as Today --
I know it, by the numb look
Such Houses have -- alway --
The Neighbors rustle in and out --
The Doctor -- drives away --
A Window opens like a Pod --
Abrupt -- mechanically --
Somebody flings a Mattress out --
The Children hurry by --
They wonder if it died -- on that --
I used to -- when a Boy --
The Minister -- goes stiffly in --
As if the House were His --
And He owned all the Mourners -- now --
And little Boys -- besides --
And then the Milliner -- and the Man
Of the Appalling Trade --
To take the measure of the House --
There'll be that Dark Parade --
Of Tassels -- and of Coaches -- soon --
It's easy as a Sign --
The Intuition of the News --
In just a Country Town --
1862
389
Skoro v dome, chto naprotiv,
Kto-nibud' umret --
Po ego pustomu vzglyadu
Znala napered.
I teper' -- shurshat sosedi,
Doktor -- ukatil,
Kto-to okna s grubym stukom --
Rezko -- otvoril,
CHtoby vyvesit' matrasy.
Deti k nim speshat --
Ne na nih li kto-to umer
Tol'ko chas nazad.
D'yakon chopornyj prohodit --
Kak hozyain -- v dom,
Vsemi v nem rasporyazhayas'
I det'mi -- krugom.
A za nim -- portnoj -- i lyudi
Samyh strashnyh trat
Merku s doma snyat' yavilis' --
Budet zdes' parad
CHernyh lent i ekipazhej --
|to yasno kak
Ob®yavlenie zhivushchim
V sel'skih gorodkah.
Perevod L. Sitnika
409
They dropped like Flakes --
They dropped like Stars --
Like Petals from a Rose --
When suddenly across the June
A wind with fingers -- goes --
They perished in the Seamless Grass --
No eye could find the place --
But God can summon every face
Of his Repealless -- List.
1862
409
Kak Zvezdy, padali oni --
Daleki i blizki --
Kak Hlop'ya Snega v yanvare --
Kak s Rozy Lepestki --
Ischezli -- polegli v Trave
Vysokoj bez sleda --
I lish' Gospod' ih vseh v lico
Zapomnil navsegda.
Perevod A. Gavrilova
441
This is my letter to the World
That never wrote to Me --
The simple News that Nature told --
With tender Majesty
Her Message is committed
To Hands I cannot see --
For love of Her -- Sweet -- countrymen --
Judge tenderly -- of Me
1862
441
Zdes' pis'ma k miru ot menya,
CHto ne napishet mne, --
Skupye vesti Bytiya
V ih vyashchej prostote.
V ch'i ruki popadut oni,
Mne ne uznat' vovek, --
Tak radi Boga -- ne sudi
Ih strogo -- chelovek!
Perevod L. Sitnika
449
I died for Beauty -- but was scarce
Adjusted in the Tomb
When One who died for Truth, was lain
In an adjoining Room --
He questioned softly "Why I failed"?
"For Beauty", I replied --
"And I -- for Truth -- Themself are One --
We Brethren, are", He said --
And so, as Kinsmen, met a Night --
We talked between the Rooms --
Until the Moss had reached our lips --
And covered up -- our names --
1862
449
YA umerla za Krasotu,
V mogilu ya legla,
I tut sosed menya sprosil,
Za chto ya umerla.
"Za krasotu", -- skazala ya
I ponyala -- on rad.
"A ya za Pravdu, -- on skazal, --
Teper' tebe ya brat".
Kak rodstvenniki, chto v nochi
Drug druga obreli,
SHeptalis' my -- pokuda mhi
Nam gub ne opleli.
Perevod A. Gavrilova
508
I'm ceded -- I've stopped being Theirs --
The name They dropped upon my face
With water, in the country church
Is finished using, now,
And They can put it with my Dolls,
My childhood, and the string of spools,
I've finished threading -- too --
Baptized, before, without the choice,
But this time, consciously, of Grace --
Unto supremest name --
Called to my Full -- The Crescent dropped --
Existence's whole Arc, filled up,
With one small Diadem.
My second Rank -- too small the first --
Crowned -- Crowing -- on my Father's breast --
A half unconscious Queen --
But this time -- Adequate -- Erect,
With Will to choose, or to reject,
And I choose, just a Crown --
1862
508
YA udalyayus' -- ya uzhe ne vasha;
To imya, chto upalo na lico mne
S vodoj kogda-to v nashej sel'skoj cerkvi,
Mne ne posluzhit bol'she.
Teper' slozhite ego k kuklam,
K detstvu, k toj nitke pryazhi,
CHto stanovitsya vse ton'she.
Kreshchenaya bez vybora kogda-to,
Teper' v soznanii priobshchayus' slave
Svyashchennym imenem,
Zovushchim k polnote, kak polumesyac,
Napolnivshij vse svody bytiya
Volshebnym plamenem.
Vtoroe imya... Pervoe zvuchalo,
Kogda ya na rukah otca molchala
Princessoj spyashchej;
No teper' -- vse pravil'no, vse verno,
Imeya volyu vybrat' i otvergnut',
YA prinimayu -- tol'ko Carstvo.
Perevod L. Sitnika
509
If anybody's friend be dead
It's sharpest of the theme
The thinking how they walked alive --
At such and such a time --
Their costume, of a Sunday,
Some manner of the Hair --
A prank nobody knew but them
Lost, in the Sepulchre --
How warm, they were, on such a day,
You almost feel the date --
So short way off it seems --
And now -- they're Centuries from that --
How pleased they were, at what you said --
You try to touch the smile
And dip your fingers in the frost --
When was it -- Can you tell --
You asked the Company to tea --
Acquaintance -- just a few --
And chatted close with this Grand Thing
That don't remember you --
Past Bows, and Invitations --
Past Interview, and Vow --
Past what Ourself can estimate --
That -- makes the Quick of Woe!
1862
509
Kogda umret vash luchshij drug,
To vspomnite ostrej
Vsego, kak on zhivoj idet
V odin iz davnih dnej.
Ego kostyum v voskresnyj den',
Probor ego volos,
V odezhde meloch', chto s soboj
V mogilu on unes.
Kak bylo zharko v etot den'
Vy vspomnite, ne verya,
CHto eto bylo tak davno,
Kogda svezha poterya.
Kak rad on byl uslyshat' vas,
Kak tronula ulybka
Ugly ego luchistyh glaz,
Ved' smert' ego -- oshibka.
Kak, priglasiv ego na chaj,
Pokuda on ostynet,
O vazhnyh sporili veshchah,
CHto i ne vspomnit' nyne.
Poklony, priglasheniya,
Besedy, obeshchaniya --
Vse eto mimoletnaya
Pechal' vospominaniya!
Perevod YA. Bergera
536
The Heart asks Pleasure -- first --
And then -- Excuse from Pain --
And then -- those little Anodyness
That deaden suffering --
And then -- to go to sleep --
And then -- if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor
The privilege to die --
1862
536
Sperva my prosim radosti,
Potom -- pokoj lish' dat',
A pozzhe -- oblegcheniya,
CHtob tol'ko ne stradat'.
A posle -- tol'ko by usnut',
Kogda pojmem, chto vrach
Uzhe ne v silah nam pomoch',
A volen lish' palach.
Perevod YA. Bergera
547
I've seen a Dying Eye
Run round and round a Room --
In search of Something -- as it seemed --
Then Cloudier become --
And then -- obscure with Fog --
And then -- be soldered down
Without disclosing what it be
'Twere blessed to have seen --
1862
547
YA videl mertvye glaza,
Bezhavshie po krugu,
I byli Nechto otyskat'
Muchitel'ny potugi;
Zatem -- na nih upal tuman,
Zatem -- oni zakrylis',
I ne ponyat', na chem oni
V konce ostanovilis'.
Perevod L. Sitnika
556
The Brain, within its Groove
Runs evenly -- and true --
But let a Splinter swerve --
'Twere easier for You --
To put a Current back --
When Floods have slit the Hills --
And scooped a Turnpike for Themselves --
And trodden out the Mills --
1862
556
V izvilinah mozgi
tekli legko i rovno,
No otklonilis' vdrug
V techenii polnokrovnom,
I legche vody vspyat',
Sbezhavshie s holma,
Vernut', chem obuzdat'
Soshedshego s uma.
Perevod L. Sitnika
583
A Toad, can die of Light --
Death is the Common Right
Of Toads and Men --
Of Earl and Midge
The privilege --
Why swagger, then?
The Gnat's supremacy is large as Thine --
Life -- is a different Thing --
So measure Wine --
Naked of Flask -- Naked of Cask --
Bare Rhine --
Which Ruby's mine?
1862
583
Svet dlya zhaby -- otrava
Smert' -- eto obshchee pravo
ZHaby i cheloveka --
Nikto ne zhivet dva veka.
Raven pred smert'yu kazhdyj.
Nikto ne dobilsya slavy
Umeret' dvazhdy.
ZHizn' -- drugoe delo.
Krasnoe vino
L'yut v pustoe telo,
No kazhdomu ono
Raznoe dano.
Perevod L. Sitnika
619
Glee -- The great storm is over --
Four -- have recovered the Land --
Forty -- gone down together --
Into the boiling Sand --
Ring -- for the Scant Salvation --
Toll -- for the bonnie Souls --
Neighbor -- and friend -- and Bridegroom --
Spinning upon the Shoals --
How they will tell the Story --
When Winter shake the Door --
Till the Children urge --
But the Forty --
Did they -- come back no more?
Then a softness -- suffuse the Story --
And a silence -- the Teller's eye --
And the Children -- no further question --
And only the Sea -- reply --
1862
619
Radujtes'! Konchilas' burya!
CHetvero -- spaseny,
Sorok drugih ne vernulis'
Iz-pod kipyashchej volny.
V kolokol bej o spasennyh!
A o pogibshih moli --
Drug, sosed i nevesta --
Vodovorot na meli!
Dolgimi budut rasskazy
O chudnom spasen'i zimoj,
I sprosit rebenok: "A sorok?
Oni ne vernutsya domoj?"
Togda tishina vocaritsya,
I lyazhet na lica svet;
Rebenok bol'she ne sprosit,
No volny dadut otvet.
Perevod L. Sitnika
622
To know just how He suffered -- would be dear --
To know if any Human eyes were near
To whom He could entrust His wavering gaze --
Until it settled broad -- on Paradise --
To know if He was patient -- part content --
Was Dying as He thought -- or different --
Was it a pleasant Day to die --
And did the Sunshine face His way --
What was His furthest mind -- Of Home -- or God --
Or what the Distant say --
At news that He ceased Human Nature
Such a Day --
And Wishes -- Had He Any --
Just His Sigh -- Accented --
Had been legible -- to Me --
And was He Confident until
Ill fluttered out -- in Everlasting Well --
And if He spoke -- What name was Best --
What last
What One broke off with
At the Drowsiest --
Was He afraid -- or tranquil --
Might He know
How Conscious Consiousness -- could grow --
Till Love that was -- and Love too best to be --
Meet -- and the Junction be Eternity
1862
622
Uznat', kak stradal on -- uzhe nagrada;
Uznat', byl li kto-nibud' ryadom,
Komu ego vzglyad poslednij otpushchen,
Poka ne zastyt' emu -- v Rajskih kushchah.
Uznat', byl li on terpeliv -- umer v plache --
Skonchalsya, kak dumal -- ili inache --
Byl li tot den' blagopriyaten,
Dlya smerti, bezhavshej ego ob®yatij?
O chem on dumal -- o dome -- o Boge,
O tom, chto skazhut, uznav, chto bremya
Lyudskoj prirody s sebya on sbrosil
V takoe vremya?
ZHelan'ya -- imel li on ih?
Tol'ko by vzdoh -- chtob mogla ya uslyshat' --
Ne byl by slishkom tih.
I byl li on tak zhe doverchiv, dokole
Boli ne stalo slyshno -- v verhovnoj vole?
I esli on proiznes -- to ch'e imya?
CH'e on vykriknul pervym?
A ch'e v konce peremoloto bylo
YAzykom, tyazhelym, kak zhernov?
Byl li ispugan on -- ili spokoen?
Mog li on dumat'
O tom, chto poluchitsya v summe,
Kogda lyubov' -- chto byla -- i kotoraya budet,
Sol'yutsya pred vechnost'yu -- v lyudyah.
Perevod L. Sitnika
623
It was too late for Man --
But early, yet, for God --
Creation -- impotent to help --
But Prayer -- remained -- Our Side --
How excellent the Heaven --
When Earth -- cannot be had --
How hospitable -- then -- the face
Of our Old Neighbor -- God --
1862
623
Slishkom pozdno dlya cheloveka,
No rano dlya Boga
Spasat' tvoyu dushu;
Lish' molitva -- podmoga.
Kak horosho na nebe,
Skol'ko v like Gospodnem
Tepla, kogda on vyhodit
Po-sosedski -- v ispodnem!
Perevod L. Sitnika
664
Of all the Souls that stand create --
I have elected -- One --
When Sense from Spirit -- files away --
And Subterfuge -- is done --
When that which is -- and that which was --
Apart -- intrinsic -- stand --
And this brief Drama in the flesh --
Is shifted -- like a Sand --
When Figures show their royal Front --
And Mists -- are carved away,
Behold the Atom -- I preferred --
To all the lists of Clay!
1862
664
Iz sonma sotvorennyh Dush
YA vybrala odnu.
I esli vosparyaet Duh,
A Plot' idet ko dnu --
I to, chto bylo, i chto est',
Razdeleno navek --
I nasha drama vo ploti
S nazvaniem "CHelovek"
Konchaetsya, i moj venec
Valyaetsya v pyli --
Vot Atom, chto ya predpochla
Lyubym sortam Zemli.
Perevod A. Gavrilova
670
One need not be a Chamber -- to be Haunted --
One need not be a House --
The Brain has Corridors -- surpassing
Material Place --
Far safer, of a Midnight Meeting
External Ghost
Than its interior Confronting --
That Cooler Host.
Far safer, through an Abbey gallop,
The Stones a'chase --
Than Unarmed, one's a'self encounter --
In lonesome Place --
Ourself behind ourself, concealed --
Should startle most --
Assassin hid in our Apartment
Be Horror's least.
The Body -- borrows a Revolver --
He bolts the Door --
O'erlooking a superior spectre --
Or More --
1863
670
Ne nuzhno komnat prividen'yu,
Ne nuzhno doma;
V tvoej dushe vse koridory
Emu znakomy.
Uzhasna prizrachnaya polnoch',
I net ognya,
No huzhe, esli gost' prihodit
Sred' bela dnya.
Gluhaya postup' v starom zamke
Ne tak strashna,
Kak steregushchaya bezlunnoj noch'yu
Vas tishina.
Puskaj tvoe orud'e grozno
I dver' prochna,
Ona ne ostanovit prizrak,
CHto brodit -- v nas.
Perevod YA. Bergera
682
'Twould ease -- a Butterfly --
Elate -- a Bee --
Thou'rt neither --
Neither -- thy capacity --
But, Blossom, were I,
I would rather be
Thy moment
Than a Bee's Eternity --
Content of fading
Is enough for me --
Fade I unto Divinity --
And Dying -- Lifetime --
Ample as the Eye --
Her least attention raise on me --
1863
682
Legko byt' motyl'kom,
Eshche luchshe -- pcheloj.
No ty -- sushchestvuya mel'kom --
Ni v kom.
Horosho byt' cvetkom --
Vsyakij by predpochel
Ego kratkost'
Vechnosti pchel.
Udovol'stvie vyanut' --
Ne trebuya mnogogo -- vpolne --
|to velenie Bogovo -- po mne.
Umeret' -- zaglyanut' hotya raz
V etot glaz, chej ogromnyj zrachok
Zamechaet -- suzhayas' -- suchok.
Perevod L. Sitnika
709
Publication -- is the Auction
Of the Mind of Man --
Poverty -- be justifying
For so foul a thing
Possibly -- but We -- would rather
From Our Garret go
White -- Unto the White Creator --
Than invest -- our Snow --
Thought belong to Him who gave it --
Then -- to Him Who bear
Its Corporeal illustration -- Sell
The Royal Air --
In the Parcel -- Be the Merchant
Of the Heavenly Grace --
But reduce no Human Spirit
To Disgrace of Price --
1863
709
Publikaciya -- prodazha
Serdca i Uma,
|takoj torgovli luchshe
Nishchaya suma.
A byt' mozhet, luchshe dazhe
Pryamo s cherdaka
V belom perejti na Nebo --
Vlit'sya v oblaka.
Mysl' prinadlezhit tomu lish',
Kto ee nam dal,
I eshche tomu, kto posle
Za nee stradal.
Prodavaj hot' Bozh'yu milost'
I torguj Vesnoj --
Tol'ko Duha CHeloveka
Ne uniz' cenoj!
Perevod A. Gavrilova
732
She rose to His Requirement -- droppt
The Playthings of Her Life
To take the honorable Work
Of Woman and of Wife --
If ought She missed in Her new Day
Of Amplitude, or Awe --
Or first Prospective -- or the Gold
In using, wear away,
It lay unmentioned -- as the Sea
Develop Pearl and Weed,
But only to Himself -- be known
The Fathoms they abide --
732
Ona dorosla do togo, chtoby, brosiv
Igrushki, chto stali ej ne nuzhny,
Prinyat' pochetnuyu dolzhnost'
ZHenshchiny i zheny.
I esli o chem-to ona skuchaet --
O prezhnih dnyah, o toske,
O pervyh nadezhdah ili o zlate,
Istonchivshemsya na ruke,
Ona ob etom molchit -- kak more,
CHto pryachet chudovishch i zhemchuga,
I tol'ko sama ona znaet --
Kak ona gluboka.
Perevod L. Sitnika
742
Four Trees -- upon a solitary Acre --
Without Design
Or Order, or Apparent Action --
Maintain --
The Sun -- upon a Morning meets them --
The Wind.
No nearer Neighbor -- have they --
But God --
The Acre gives them -- Place.
They -- Him -- Attention of Passer by --
Of Shadow, or of Squirrel, haply --
Or Boy --
What Deed is Theirs unto the General Nature --
What Plan --
They severally -- retard -- or further --
Unknown --
742
CHetyre dereva -- v pustynnom meste --
Bez vsyakogo poryadka,
Ili plana, ili vidimosti smysla --
Rastushchih vmeste.
Solnce -- ih po utram privetstvuet --
Da veter --
Drugih sosedej -- krome Boga --
Blizhe netu.
Ih ugol im daet -- priyut --
Oni -- emu -- vnimanie prohozhih --
K teni ili -- esli eto deti -- k belke --
Dayut.
Kakoe im v Velikom Zamysle Prirody
Dostalos' mesto?
Oni -- v bezzhalostnoj otstavke -- ili vperedi --
Nam neizvestno.
Perevod L. Sitnika
759
He fought like those Who've nought to lose --
Bestowed Himself to Balls
As One who for a furher Life
Had not a further Use --
Invited Death -- with bold attempt --
But Death was Coy of Him
As Other Men, were Coy of Death --
To Him -- to live -- was Doom --
His Comrades, shifted like the Flakes
When Gusts reverse the Snow --
But He -- was left alive Because
Of Greediness to die --
1863
759
On bilsya yarostno -- sebya
Pod puli podstavlyal,
Kak budto bol'she nichego
ot ZHizni on ne zhdal.
On shel navstrechu Smerti -- no
Ona k nemu ne shla,
Bezhala ot nego -- i ZHizn'
Strashnej ee byla.
Kak hlop'ya, padali druz'ya,
Rosli sugroby tel,
No on ostalsya zhit' -- za to,
CHto umeret' hotel.
Perevod A. Gavrilova
764
Presentiment -- is that long Shadow -- on the Lawn --
Indicative that Suns go down --
The Notice to the startled Grass
That Darkness -- is about to pass --
1863
764
Predchuvstvie -- eto dlinnaya ten' na lugu,
Kogda solnce sgibaet svoj put' v dugu,
Govorya perepugannoj etim trave,
CHto noch' -- uzhe na dvore.
Perevod L. Sitnika
793
Grief is a Mouse --
And chooses Wainscot in the Breast
For His Shy House --
And baffles quest --
Grief is a Thief -- quick startled --
Pricks His Ear -- report to hear
Of that Vast Dark --
That swept His Being -- back --
Grief is a Juggler -- boldest at the Play --
Lest if He flinch -- the eye that way
Pounce on His Bruises -- One -- say -- or Three --
Grief is a Gourmand -- spare His luxury --
Best Grief is Tongueless -- before He'll tell --
Burn Him in the Public Square --
His Ashes -- will
Possibly -- if they refuse -- How then know --
Since a Rack couldn't coax a syllable -- now.
1863
793
Pechal' -- eto mysh',
CHto skrebetsya v grudi -- nyryaya
V svoyu chutkuyu tish' --
I v poiskah bystro shnyryaya.
Pechal' -- puglivyj vorishka --
Torchkom ego ushi -- chtob slushat'
Ogromnuyu Noch',
CHto smetet ego tel'ce -- proch'.
Pechal' -- eto shuler -- derzok v igre --
Dobavit v pule -- spishet v gore --
Peredernet -- odin -- ili tri -- smotri --
Pechal' -- eto skryaga, hranyashchij svoj klad -- vnutri.
Pechal' horosha, kogda ne govorit --
Na ploshchadi zhgi ee -- pust' gorit --
Ee pepel -- razvej po svetu --
Pechal' horosha -- esli molchit --
Pust' ee mchit -- veter.
Perevod L. Sitnika
797
By my Window have I for Scenery
Just a Sea -- with a Stem --
If the Bird and the Farmer -- deem it a "Pine" --
The Opinion will serve -- for them --
It has no Port, nor a "Line" -- but the Jays --
That split their route to the Sky --
Or a Squirrel, whose giddy Peninsula
May be easier reached -- this way --
For Inlands -- the Earth is the under side --
And the upper side -- is the Sun.
And its Commerce -- if Commerce it have --
Of Spice -- I infer from the Odors borne --
Of its Voice -- to affirm -- when the Wind is within --
Can the Dumb -- define the Divine?
The Definition of Melody -- is --
That Definition is none --
It -- suggests to our Faith.
They -- suggest to our Sight.
When the latter -- is put away
I shall meet with Conviction I somewhere met
That Immortality.
Was the Pine at my Window a "Fellow
Of the Royal" Infinity?
Apprehensions -- are God's introductions --
To be hallowed -- accordingly --
1863
797
Pejzazhem ya vizhu iz moego okna
Tol'ko more -- s vetvyami.
Esli ptica i fermer dumayut o nem -- "Sosna",
Pust' zovut etim imenem sami.
V nem net porta, net --linij, lish' sojka
CHertit svoj put' v nebe -- da belka
Na svoj podveshennyj poluostrov bojko
vzbiraetsya -- etoj dorogoj.
Dlya vnutrennih stran zemlya -- tam, gde niz,
A verh -- eto tam, gde solnce.
Ih kommerciya -- esli ona u nih est' -- sostoit iz
Torgovli pryanostyami -- sudya po aromatu.
Golosa -- chto krepchayut, kol' veter vglub'.
Mozhet nemoj nazvat' po imeni Boga?
Takoe opredelenie muzyki -- sut' --
Opredelyaet nemnogo.
Oni -- vzyvayut k nashim glazam.
Ono -- vzyvaet k nashej vere.
Esli pervoe -- otbrosit' proch',
YA budu znat', chto -- po krajnej mere --
Vstrechala Bessmertie.
Byla li Sosna pod moim oknom -- CHlenom
Korolevskogo Obshchestva Vechnosti?
Ponimanie -- kogda Bog priglashaet
K posvyashcheniyu -- sootvetstvenno.
Perevod L. Sitnika
822
This Consciousness that is aware
Of Neighbors and the Sun
Will be the one aware of Death
And that itself alone
Is traversing the interval
Experience between
And most profound experiment
Appointed unto Men --
How adequate unto itself
Its properties shall be
Itself unto itself and none
Shall make discovery.
Adventure most unto itself
The Soul condemned to be --
Attended by a single Hound
Its own identity.
1864
822
Soznanie, chto soznaet
I T'mu i Svet ravno,
Kogda-nibud' uznaet Smert',
No lish' ono odno
Dolzhno preodolet' razryv
Mezh kosmosom idej
I tem eksperimentom -- chto
Vozlozhen na lyudej.
Kak sootvetstvovat' sebe
Ono vo vsem dolzhno!
I kto Tvorec ego -- uznat'
Voveki ne dano.
Bluzhdat' vnutri sebya samoj
Dusha obrechena
S Povodyrem -- Brodyachim Psom,
I etot Pes -- ona.
Perevod A. Gavrilova
887
We outgrow love, like other things
And put it in the Drawer --
Till it an Antique fashion shows --
Like Costumes Grandsires wore.
1864
887
My vyrastaem iz lyubvi
I, zaperev v komode
Ee hranim, poka ona
Ne budet snova v mode
Perevod L. Sitnika
975
The Mountain sat upon the Plain
In his tremendous Chair --
His observation omnifold,
His inquest, everywhere --
The Seasons played around his knees
Like Children round a sire --
Grandfather of the Days is He
Of Dawn, the Ancestor --
1864
975
Gory sadyatsya v dolinu,
Kak v staroe kreslo,
Vzglyad ih, kak teni, dlinen,
Ih interes -- povsemesten.
Gody na ih kolenyah
Igrayut, kak deti,
Dedushki dnej oni
I predki stoletij.
Perevod L. Sitnika
976
Death is a Dialogue between
The Spirit and the Dust.
"Dissolve" says Death -- The Spirit "Sir
I have another Trust" --
Death doubts it -- Argues from the Ground --
The Spirit turns away
Just laying off for evidence,
An Overcoat of Clay.
1864
976
Smert' -- eto dolgij razgovor
Promezh Dushoj i Prahom.
"Vse tlen!" -- gnet Smert'. Dusha v otvet:
"Mne chuzhdy Vashi strahi".
Smert' smotrit v zemlyu, a Dusha,
CHtob spor zakonchit' dlinnyj,
Kak svoj poslednij argument
Snyala pal'to iz gliny.
Perevod L. Sitnika
1055
The Soul should always stand ajar
That if the Heaven inquire
He will not be obliged to wait
Or shy of troubling Her
Depart, before the Host have slid
The Bolt unto the Door --
To search for the accomplished Guest,
Her Visitor, no more --
1865
1055
Dusha dolzhna zhit' naraspashku,
CHtob k nej prishedshij Bog
Ne dozhidalsya u poroga,
Zastav ee vrasploh.
Otkroj zhe dver', poka Hozyain
Ne vyvesil zamok,
CHtoby smutit' ee vizitom
Nikto uzhe ne smog.
Perevod L. Sitnika
1067
Except the smaller size
No lives are round --
These -- hurry to a sphere
And show and end --
The larger -- slower grow
And later hang --
The Summers of Hesperides
Are long.
1866
1067
Lish' malen'kaya tvar'
Speshit rodit'sya --
CHtob pokazat' sebya
I udalit'sya.
Bol'shoe ne speshit
S prirodoj slit'sya --
Ved' leto Gesperid
Tak dolgo dlitsya!
Perevod A. Gavrilova
1075
The Sky is low -- the Clouds are mean.
A Travelling Flake of Snow
Across a Barn or through a Rut
Debates if it will go --
A Narrow Wind complains all Day
How some one treated him
Nature, like Us, is sometimes caught
Without her Diadem.
1866
1075
Nebo nizhe -- chem oblaka.
Padaya, hlop'ya snega
Valyatsya v gryaz' i na doma,
Ne zamedlyaya bega.
Veter gor'ko stonet ves' den',
Budto kto ego gonit --
Tak prirodu my zastaem
Bez ee korony.
Perevod L. Sitnika
1129
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant --
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb suprise.
As Lightning to the Children eased
With expanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind --
1868
1129
Skazhi vsyu Pravdu, no lish' vskol'z' --
Okol'nyj put' vernej.
Opasen dlya dushi vostorg
Stolknut'sya pryamo s Nej.
Kak molniya ne tak strashna
Pri ob®yasnenii detyam,
Tak privykat' dolzhna dusha,
CHtob ne oslepnut', k svetu.
Perevod L. Sitnika
1182
Remembrance has a Rear and Front --
'Tis something like a House --
It has a Garret also
For Refuse and the Mouse.
Besides the deepest Cellar
That ever Mason laid --
Look to it by its Fathoms
Ourselves be not pursued --
1871
1182
Pamyat' imeet okna i steny
I pod samoj kryshej --
CHerdak, kak u vsyakogo doma,
Dlya begleca i myshi.
No krome etogo -- temnyj podval
Kamenotes slozhil,
CHtoby dlya sobstvennoj glubiny
Mogiloj sluzhil.
Perevod L. Sitnika
1186
Too few the mornings be,
Too scant the nigthts.
No lodging can be had
For the delights
That come to earth to stay,
But no apartment find
And ride away.
1871
1186
Zdes' slishkom kratki dni
I skudny nochi,
CHtoby mogli oni
Sosredotochit'
Vostorgi, chto zdes' zhit' hoteli,
No ne nashli priyuta
I uleteli.
Perevod L. Sitnika
1207
He preached upon 'Breadth' till it argued him narrow --
The Broad are too broad to define
And of 'Truth' until it proclaimed him a Liar --
The Truth never flaunted a Sign --
Simplicity fled from his counterfeit presence
As Gold the Pyrites would shun --
What confusion would cover the innocent Jesus
To meet so enabled a Man!
1872