Despair

Beneath this gloomy shade,

By Nature only for my sorrows made,

I’ll spend this voyce in crys,

In tears I’ll waste these eyes

By Love so vainly fed;

So Lust of old the Deluge punished.

Ah wretched youth! said I,

“Ah, wretched youth!” twice did I sadly cry:

“Ah, wretched youth!” the fields and floods reply.

When thoughts of Love I entertain,

I meet no words but “Never,” and “In vain.”

“Never” alas that dreadful name

Which fuels the infernal flame:

“Never,” My time to come must waste;

“In vain,” torments the present and the past.

“In vain, in vain!” said I;

“In vain, in vain!” twice did I sadly cry;

“In vain, in vain!” the fields and floods reply.

No more shall fields or floods do so;

For I to shades more dark and silent go:

All this world’s noise appears to me

A dull ill-acted comedy:

No comfort to my wounded sight,

In the suns busy and imperti’nent Light.

Then down I laid my head;

Down on cold earth; and for a while was dead,

And my freed soul to a strange somewhere fled.

“Ah, sottish Soul” said I,

When back to its cage again I saw it fly;

“Fool to resume her broken chain!

And row her galley here again!”

“Fool, to that body to return

Where it condemn’d and destin’d is to burn!

Once dead, how can it be,

Death should a thing so pleasant seem to thee,

That thou should’st come to live it o’re again in me?”

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Иннокентий Анненский – Еврипид. Ифигения в Авлиде («Ифигения-жертва») (перевод) by Иннокентий Анненский
• Иннокентий Анненский – Еврипид. Геракл (перевод) by Иннокентий Анненский
• Илья Зданевич – Пабло Пикассо by Поэзия На Русском
• Илья Зданевич – Ослиный Бох by Поэзия На Русском
• Илья Зданевич – Опять на жизненную скуку by Поэзия На Русском
• Илья Зданевич – Галоша by Поэзия На Русском
• Илья Зданевич – Экспромт by Поэзия На Русском
• Илья Эренбург – Жилье в горах, как всякое жилье by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Я знаю, будет золотой и долгий by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Я так любил тебя, до грубых шуток by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Я слышу всё, и горестные шепоты by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Я помню, давно уже я уловил by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Я не трубач, труба by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Я бы мог прожить совсем иначе by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Взвился рыжий, ближе by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Вы приняли меня в изысканной гостиной by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Ода by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – О Москве by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Легкий сон by Илья Эренбург
• Илья Эренбург – Круг by Илья Эренбург

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

Parallel Translations of Poetry

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works