A poem by Alexander Pushkin – Pouchkine, Pooshkin (1799-1837), in English translation
Stormy clouds delirious straying,
Showers of whirling snowflakes white,
And the pallid moonbeams waning–
Sad the heavens, sad the night!
Further speeds the sledge, and further,
Loud the sleighbell’s melody,
Grewsome, frightful ’tis becoming,
‘Mid these snow fields now to be!
Hasten! “That is useless, Master,
Heavier for my team their load,
And my eyes with snow o’er plastered
Can no longer see the road!
Lost all trace of our direction,
Sir, what now? The goblins draw
Us already round in circles,
Pull the sledge with evil claw!
See! One hops with frantic gesture,
In my face to grin and hiss,
See! It goads the frenzied horses
Onward to the black abyss!
In the darkness, like a paling
One stands forth,–and now I see
Him like walking-fire sparkling–
Then the blackness,–woe is me!”
Stormy clouds delirious straying,
Showers of snowflakes whirling white,
And the pallid moonbeams waning–
Sad the heavens, sad the night!
Sudden halt the weary horses,
Silent too the sleighbells whirr–
Look! What crouches on the ground there?
“Wolf,–or shrub,–I know not, Sir.”
How the wind’s brood rage and whimper!
Scenting, blow the triple team;
See! One hops here! Forward Driver!
How his eyes with evil gleam!
Scarce controllable the horses,
How the harness bells resound!
Look! With what a sneering grimace
Now the spirit band surround!
In an endless long procession,
Formless, countless of their kind
Circle us in flying coveys
Like the leaves in Autumn wind.
Now in ghastly silence deathly,
Now with shrilling elfin cry–
Is it some mad dance of bridal,
Or a death march passing by?
Stormy clouds delirious straying
Showers of snowflakes whirling white,
And the pallid moonbeams waning–
Sad the heavens, sad the night!
Cloudward course the evil spirits
In unceasing phantom bands,
And their moaning and bewailing
Grip my heart with icy hands!
A few random poems:
- Complete Destruction by William Carlos Williams
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Липы
- Going for Water by Robert Frost
- Corona by Paul Celan
- Наум Коржавин – Подмосковная платформа в апреле
- A Schoolyard Shame by Ryan Isaacson
- For the Young Who Want To by Marge Piercy
- Валерий Брюсов – Её колени
- from The Cave of Making by W H Auden
- Epitaph On the Lady Mary Villiers by Thomas Carew
- Николай Языков – Песня (Пусть свободны и легки)
- The Voice of Robert Desnos by Robert Desnos
- Ольга Берггольц – Украина
- Here War Is Simple by W H Auden
- Colonus’ Praise by William Butler Yeats
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
- Sunflowers by Martin Willitts Jr.
- Morning by Mark R Slaughter
- Speaking the Language of Deer by Martin Willitts Jr.
- Mending Socks by Martin Willitts Jr.
- Some Say by Mark Miller
- So You Say by Mark Strand
- Manure by Mark R Slaughter
- Slag by Mark Base
- Mammary Tunes by Mark R Slaughter
- She and Drugs by Mark R Slaughter
- Sculpture of Debris on the Waterfront by Martina Reisz Newberry
- Lines For Winter by Mark Strand
- Life, wait for me by Martin Zakovski
- Question mark remarks by Mark Miller
- Life by Marvin Bell
- Postures by Martina Reisz Newberry
- My Father’s Hats by Mark Irwin
- Let Him Free by Mary Etta Metcalf
- Keeping Things Whole by Mark Strand
- Please Don’t Judas Me by Mark Miller
More external links (open in a new tab):
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
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works
Alexander Pushkin (1799-1937) was a Russian poet, playwright and prose writer, founder of the realistic trend in Russian literature, literary critic and theorist of literature, historian, publicist, journalist; one of the most important cultural figures in Russia in the first third of the 19th century.