Rhymes from the Russian : $b Being faithful translations of selections from the best Russian poets
General
Rhymes from the Russian : $b Being faithful translations of selections from the best Russian poets
Russian poetry -- Translations into English
Ah! who art thou, fair maid, with upland flowers
Twined in the glossy silk of golden hair,
With smile sunbright, with eyes the dove in hue,
With raylike raiment spun from upper air?
Who gifted thee with deep mysterious power
To heal the aching heart of human woe?
At thy approach delights that long lay dead
Revive, and once again with glad life glow.
To honour thee a hymn doth Nature raise;
The babbling brooks and birds in chorus blend;
And pinewoods dark, shimmering in every spray,
To thee, as to a friend, their arms extend.
I’m but a Stranger-Guest, sent from on high
To weary souls a draught of peace to bring,
To soften wrath, to soothe fierce enmity;
I’m but a Stranger-Guest--they call me “Spring.”
_PASSION._
Ah! could I but utter in song
All the anguish which robs me of peace,
Thy sorrow of soul would be stilled,
Thy murmur of doubting would cease!
I would breathe forth my life, my beloved,
As I told all my pain for thy sake;
And, bursting in passionate song,
My heart in its fulness would break.
FROM E. KYLAEF.
_BILLOWS._
Rushing on, rushing on, speed the billows uproarious,
Breathing hard o’er the depths of the sea;
They roll and they rage, full of majesty glorious,
In broad ridges, boundless and free--
Speeding on to the shore where the tall cliffs are gleaming,
Glancing down o’er the deep of the blue;
So my thoughts from afar, whether waking or dreaming,
Stream ever, dear country, to you.
FROM COUNT T.
_NO HALF-MEASURES._
If you love--then, _love_ without reason;
If you threaten--don’t threaten in play;
If you strike--strike straight from the shoulder;
If you storm--to full fury give way;
If you battle--then, do it with boldness;
If you punish--let punishment tell;
If you pardon--then, pardon in earnest;
If you feast--then, be sure you feast well!
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON AND BECCLES.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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