The Water-Nymph poem – Alexander Pushkin

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

In lakeside leafy groves, a friar

Escaped all worries; there he passed

His summer days in constant prayer,

Deep studies and eternal fast.

Already with a humble shovel

The elder dug himself a grave –

As, calling saints to bless his hovel,

Death; nothing other; did he crave.

So once, upon a falling night, he

Was bowing by his wilted shack

With meekest prayer to the Almighty.

The grove was turning slowly black;

Above the lake a mist was lifting;

Through milky clouds across the sky

The ruddy moon was softly drifting,

When water drew the friar’s eye…

He’s looking puzzled, full of trouble,

Of fear he cannot quite explain,

He sees the waves begin to bubble

And suddenly grow calm again.

Then — white as first snow in the highlands,

Light-footed as nocturnal shade,

There comes ashore, and sits in silence

Upon the bank, a naked maid.

She eyes the monk and brushes gently

Her hair, and water off her arms.

He shakes with fear and looks intently

At her, and at her lovely charms.

With eager hand she waves and beckons,

Nods quickly, smiles as from afar

And shoots, within two flashing seconds,

Into still water like a star.

The glum old man slept not an instant;

All day, not even once he prayed:

Before his eyes still hung and glistened

The wondrous, the relentless shade…

The grove puts on its gown of nightfall;

The moon walks on the cloudy floor;

And there’s the maiden; pale, delightful,

Reclining on the spellbound shore.

She looks at him, her hair she brushes,

Blows airy kisses, gestures wild,

Plays with the waves; caresses, splashes –

Now laughs, now whimpers like a child,

Moans tenderly, calls louder, louder…

“Come, monk, come, monk! To me, to me!..”

Then; disappears in limpid water,

And all is silent instantly…

On the third day the zealous hermit

Was sitting by the shore, in love,

Awaiting the delightful mermaid,

As shade was covering the grove…

Dark ceded to the sun’s emergence;

Our monk had wholly disappeared –

Before a crowd of local urchins,

While fishing, found his hoary beard.

translated by: Genia Gurarie

email: egurarie@princeton.edu

http://www.princeton.edu/~egurarie/

Copyright ©: 
Genia Gurarie

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 

• Hope by Swaraj Prasad by Poetry In English
• Ematiated Souls by Suuk Simon Subinimah by Poetry In English
• Curtis by Susan King Saunders by Poetry In English
• Caught by Susan Adams by Poetry In English
• A soldier’s Pledge by Sylvan Lightbourne by Poetry In English
• A character of it’s own by Sylvan Lightbourne by Poetry In English
• Zoo-Keeper’s Wife by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• You’re by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Yadwigha, On A Red Couch, Among Lillies by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Yaddo : The Grand Manor by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Wreath For A Bridal by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Words Heard, By Accident, Over The Phone by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• A Winter’s Tale by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Winter Landscape, With Rooks by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Watercolor Of Grantchester Meadows by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Waking In Winter by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Virgin In A Tree by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Two Views Of Withens by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Two Views Of A Cadaver Room by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
• Two Sisters Of Persephone by Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath

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