Vayu The Wind

A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904)

Ah, Wind, I have always loved thee

Since those far off nights

When I lay beneath the vines

A prey to strange delights,

For among my tresses

Thy soft caresses

Were sweet as a lover’s to me.

Later thou grewest more wanton, or I more shy,

And after the bath I drew my garments close,

Fearing thy soft persuasion amongst my hair

When thou camest fresh with the scent of some ruffled rose.

Ah, Wind, thou hast lain with the Desert,

I know her savour well,

And the spices wherewith she scents her breasts–

She who has known such countless lovers

Yet rarely borne a city among her sands–

Thou comest as one from a night of love,

Thy breath is broken and hard,–

Bringing echoes of lonely things,

Vast and cruel, that the soft and golden sands

Buried beneath thin ripples so long ago.

Ah, Wind, thou hast given me lovely things,

The scent of a thousand flowers,

And the heavy perfume of pollen-laden fields,

Strange snatches of wild song from the heart of the dark Bazaar

That thrilled to my very core,

Till I threw the sheet aside and rose to follow,–

But whither, or what?

Also, Wind, thou broughtest the breath of the sea,

The sound of its myriad waves.

And in nights when I lay on the lonely sands

Stretching mine arms to thee,

Thou gavest me something–faint and vast and sweet,

Something ineffable, wistful, from far away,

Elsewhere–Beyond–

And thou wast kind to me in my times of love,

Cooling my lips

That my lover wore away,

While, wafting the scent from his divided hair,

Thou show’dst the stars between

Far away, and eclipsed by his burning eyes

Even the stars.

And now I almost foresee the place and the hour

When I shall open my dying lips to thee

And receive a last cool kiss.

Afterwards, Wind, since I have always loved thee,–

Whirl my dust to the scented heart of a moghra flower,

_His_ flower, but, ah, thou knowest,–

So often thy kisses have mingled with his and mine.

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