English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. The Monument. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) The Monument Now can you see the monument? It is of wood built somewhat like a box. No. Built like several boxes in descending sizes one above the other. Each is turned half-way round so that its corners point toward the sides of […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore From Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge, on this fine morning, please come flying. In a cloud of fiery pale chemicals, please come flying, to the rapid rolling of thousands of small blue drums descending out of the mackerel sky […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Large Bad Picture. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Large Bad Picture Remembering the Strait of Belle Isle or some northerly harbor of Labrador, before he became a schoolteacher a great-uncle painted a big picture. Receding for miles on either side into a flushed, still sky are overhanging pale blue cliffs […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. The Imaginary Iceberg. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) The Imaginary Iceberg We’d rather have the iceberg than the ship, although it meant the end of travel. Although it stood stock-still like cloudy rock and all the sea were moving marble. We’d rather have the iceberg than the […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Song for the Rainy Season. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Song for the Rainy Season Hidden, oh hidden in the high fog the house we live in, beneath the magnetic rock, rain-, rainbow-ridden, where blood-black bromelias, lichens, owls, and the lint of the waterfalls cling, […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Sandpiper. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Sandpiper The roaring alongside he takes for granted, and that every so often the world is bound to shake. He runs, he runs to the south, finical, awkward, in a state of controlled panic, a student of Blake. The beach hisses like […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Giant Snail. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Giant Snail The rain has stopped. The waterfall will roar like that all night. I have come out to take a walk and feed. My body–foot, that is–is wet and cold and covered with sharp gravel. It is white, the size of […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Sonnet (I am in need of music that would flow). Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Sonnet (I am in need of music that would flow) I am in need of music that would flow Over my fretful, feeling finger-tips, Over my bitter-tainted, trembling lips, With melody, deep, clear, and liquid-slow. Oh, for the healing swaying, old and low, Of […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Florida. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Florida The state with the prettiest name, the state that floats in brackish water, held together by mangrave roots that bear while living oysters in clusters, and when dead strew white swamps with skeletons, dotted as if bombarded, with green hummocks […]
English Poetry. Robert Louis Stevenson. A Child’s Garden of Verses. The Child Alone. 9. The Little Land. Роберт Льюис Стивенсон. Детский сад стихов. Ребёнок, играющий один. 9. Маленькая страна
Robert Louis Stevenson (Роберт Льюис Стивенсон) A Child’s Garden of Verses. The Child Alone. 9. The Little Land When at home alone I sit And am very tired of it, I have just to shut my eyes To go sailing through the skies– To go sailing far away […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. The End of March. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) The End of March For John Malcolm Brinnin and Bill Read: Duxbury It was cold and windy, scarcely the day to take a walk on that long beach Everything was withdrawn as far as possible, indrawn: the tide far […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. A Miracle for Breakfast. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) A Miracle for Breakfast At six o’clock we were waiting for coffee, waiting for coffee and the charitable crumb that was going to be served from a certain balcony —like kings of old, or like a miracle. It was still […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Exchanging Hats. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Exchanging Hats Unfunny uncles who insist in trying on a lady’s hat, –oh, even if the joke falls flat, we share your slight transvestite twist in spite of our embarrassment. Costume and custom are complex. The headgear of the other sex inspires […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Casabianca. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Casabianca Love’s the boy stood on the burning deck trying to recite ”The boy stood on the burning deck.” Love’s the son stood stammering elocution while the poor ship in flames went down. Love’s the obstinate boy, the ship, even the swimming […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Letter to N.Y.. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Letter to N.Y. For Louise Crane In your next letter I wish you’d say where you are going and what you are doing; how are the plays and after the plays what other pleasures you’re pursuing: taking cabs in the middle of […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Argument. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Argument Days that cannot bring you near or will not, Distance trying to appear something more obstinate, argue argue argue with me endlessly neither proving you less wanted nor less dear. Distance: Remember all that land beneath the plane; that coastline of […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. The Shampoo. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) The Shampoo The still explosions on the rocks, the lichens, grow by spreading, gray, concentric shocks. They have arranged to meet the rings around the moon, although within our memories they have not changed. And since the heavens will attend as long […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. The Weed. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) The Weed I dreamed that dead, and meditating, I lay upon a grave, or bed, (at least, some cold and close-built bower). In the cold heart, its final thought stood frozen, drawn immense and clear, stiff and idle as I was there; and […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. The Moose. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) The Moose From narrow provinces of fish and bread and tea, home of the long tides where the bay leaves the sea twice a day and takes the herrings long rides, where if the river enters or retreats in a wall […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Insomnia. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Insomnia The moon in the bureau mirror looks out a million miles (and perhaps with pride, at herself, but she never, never smiles) far and away beyond sleep, or perhaps she’s a daytime sleeper. By the Universe deserted, she’d tell it to […]
English Poetry. Robert Louis Stevenson. A Child’s Garden of Verses. Garden Days. 1. Night and Day. Роберт Льюис Стивенсон. Детский сад стихов. Дни в саду. 1. Ночь и день
Robert Louis Stevenson (Роберт Льюис Стивенсон) A Child’s Garden of Verses. Garden Days. 1. Night and Day When the golden day is done, Through the closing portal, Child and garden, Flower and sun, Vanish all things mortal. As the blinding shadows fall As the rays diminish, […]
English Poetry. George Gordon Byron. Stanzas to Augusta . Джордж Гордон Байрон. Стансы к Августе (Когда сгустилась мгла кругом)
George Gordon Byron (Джордж Гордон Байрон) Stanzas to Augusta When all around grew drear and dark, And reason half withheld her ray - And hope but shed a dying spark Which more misled my lonely way; In that deep midnight of the mind, And that internal strife […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Manners. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Manners For a Child of 1918 My grandfather said to me as we sat on the wagon seat, ”Be sure to remember to always speak to everyone you meet.” We met a stranger on foot. My grandfather’s whip tapped his hat. […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Love Lies Sleeping. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Love Lies Sleeping Earliest morning, switching all the tracks that cross the sky from cinder star to star, coupling the ends of streets to trains of light. now draw us into daylight in our beds; and clear away what presses on […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Lullaby for the Cat. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Lullaby for the Cat Minnow, go to sleep and dream, Close your great big eyes; Round your bed Events prepare The pleasantest surprise. Darling Minnow, drop that frown, Just cooperate, Not a kitten shall be drowned In the Marxist State. Joy and […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. The Fish. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) The Fish I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth. He didn’t fight. He hadn’t fought at all. He hung a grunting weight, battered and venerable and […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Songs for a Colored Singer. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Songs for a Colored Singer I A washing hangs upon the line, but it’s not mine. None of the things that I can see belong to me. The neighbors got a radio with an aerial; we got a little portable. They got a […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Visits to St. Elizabeths. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Visits to St. Elizabeths This is the house of Bedlam. This is the man that lies in the house of Bedlam. This is the time of the tragic man that lies in the house of Bedlam. This is a wristwatch telling […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Five Flights Up. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Five Flights Up Still dark. The unknown bird sits on his usual branch. The little dog next door barks in his sleep inquiringly, just once. Perhaps in his sleep, too, the bird inquires once or twice, quavering. Questions–if that is what they are– answered […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Roosters. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Roosters At four o’clock in the gun-metal blue dark we hear the first crow of the first cock just below the gun-metal blue window and immediately there is an echo off in the distance, then one from the backyard fence, then one, […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Manuelzinho. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Manuelzinho Half squatter, half tenant (no rent)— a sort of inheritance; white, in your thirties now, and supposed to supply me with vegetables, but you don’t; or you won’t; or you can’t get the idea through your brain— the world’s worst gardener since […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Giant Toad. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Giant Toad I am too big. Too big by far. Pity me. My eyes bulge and hurt. They are my one great beauty, even so. They see too much, above, below. And yet, there is not much to see. The […]
English Poetry. Robert Louis Stevenson. A Child’s Garden of Verses. The Child Alone. 3. My Kingdom. Роберт Льюис Стивенсон. Детский сад стихов. Ребёнок, играющий один. 3. Моё королевство
Robert Louis Stevenson (Роберт Льюис Стивенсон) A Child’s Garden of Verses. The Child Alone. 3. My Kingdom Down by a shining water well I found a very little dell, No higher than my head. The heather and the gorse about In summer bloom were coming out, Some […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Cirque D’Hiver. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Cirque D’Hiver Across the floor flits the mechanical toy, fit for a king of several centuries back. A little circus horse with real white hair. His eyes are glossy black. He bears a little dancer on his back. She stands upon her […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Cape Breton. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Cape Breton Out on the high ”bird islands,” Ciboux and Hertford, the razorbill auks and the silly-looking puffins all stand with their backs to the mainland in solemn, uneven lines along the cliff’s brown grass-frayed edge, while the few […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Arrival at Santos. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Arrival at Santos Here is a coast; here is a harbor; here, after a meager diet of horizon, is some scenery: impractically shaped and–who knows?–self-pitying mountains, sad and harsh beneath their frivolous greenery, with a little church on top of […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. The Burglar of Babylon. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) The Burglar of Babylon On the fair green hills of Rio There grows a fearful stain: The poor who come to Rio And can’t go home again. On the hills a million people, A million sparrows, nest, Like a confused migration That’s had […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. Strayed Crab. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) Strayed Crab This is not my home. How did I get so far from water? It must be over that way somewhere. I am the color of wine, of tinta. The inside of my powerful right claw is saffron-yellow. See, […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. To Be Written on the Mirror in Whitewash. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) To Be Written on the Mirror in Whitewash I live only here, between your eyes and you, But I live in your world. What do I do? –Collect no interest–otherwise what I can; Above all I am not that staring man. […]
English Poetry. Elizabeth Bishop. A Prodigal. Элизабет Бишоп.
Elizabeth Bishop (Элизабет Бишоп) A Prodigal The brown enormous odor he lived by was too close, with its breathing and thick hair, for him to judge. The floor was rotten; the sty was plastered halfway up with glass-smooth dung. Light-lashed, self-righteous, above moving snouts, the pigs’ eyes […]