The Roussalka poem – Alexander Pushkin

A poem by Alexander Pushkin – Pouchkine, Pooshkin (1799-1837), in English translation

A LEGEND OF THE WATER-SPRITE

In forest depths, beside a mere,

A monk once made his habitation ;

Absorbed in penances severe,

In fast and prayer he sought salvation.

Already by his own poor spade

His grave was hollowed to receive him,

And every day the good saint prayed

That Heaven from earth would soon relieve him.

One summer’s eve, the hermit poor,

At prayer within his narrow room,

Looked out beyond his humble door

And saw the forest wrapped in gloom ;

Night-mists were rising from the mere,

Between the clouds the moon ‘gan peep;

The monk unto the pool drew near

And gazed into its waters deep.

He saw himself-drew back perturbed

By fears he ne’er had known before ;

For, lo, the waters were disturbed,

Then suddenly grew calm once more ;

“While fitful as a twilight shade,

Than virgin snow more purely white,

From out the pool appeared a maid

Approaching in the silver light.

She shook the bright drops from her hair

And gazed upon the anchorite ;

To look upon her form so fair

The good monk trembled with affright.

And he beheld her from afar

With head and hand strange signals make,

Then swifter than a shooting star

Dive back into the silent lake.

All night the hermit could not sleep,

All day in agony he prayed ;

But still he could not choose but keep

The image of that wondrous maid

Before him. So, when day did wane,

And overhead the moon was bright,

He watched, and saw her come again

In all her beauty, dazzling white.

She beckoned to him where he stood,

And gave him greeting glad and free.

She played and splashed about the flood,

She laughed and danced in childish glee,

As softly to the monk she cried :

” Come hither, monk, and join me here!”

Then suddenly she dipped to hide

Her beauty in the darkling mere.

The third day came-grown mad with love,

The hermit sought th’ enchanted shore

Ere yet night’s veil was drawn above,

And waited for the maid once more.

Dawn broke-the monk had disappeared . . .

And now the frightened children say

He haunts the pool: and lo! his beard

Floats on the water night and day.

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Poems in English 

• The Gardener XIX: You Walked by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener XIV: I Was Walking by the Road by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener XIII: I Asked Nothing by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener X: Let Your Work Be, Bride by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LXXXIV: Over the Green by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LXXXIII: She Dwelt on the Hillside by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LXXXI: Why Do You Whisper So Faintly by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LXXVI: The Fair Was On by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LXXV: At Midnight by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LXVIII: None Lives For Ever, Brother by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LXIX: I Hunt for the Golden Stag by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LXIV: I Spent My Day by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LV: It Was Mid-Day by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LIX: O Woman by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener LI: Then Finish the Last Song by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener IX: When I Go Alone at Night by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Gardener IV: Ah Me by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Further Bank by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The Flower-School by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore
• The First Jasmines by Rabindranath Tagore by Rabindranath Tagore

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