As
the author and the March night briskly
Walked, from time to time they could
Observe a flickering-as if real-
Then suddenly concealing ghost.
As
in an amphitheater
At dawn, appearing at an augur's cry,
"Tomorrow" uttered on
The steps rushed upon them both.
It
came like a joiner with his frame
And moulding: buildings, temples, trees
Appeared in the bottomless square of the frame
Alien, and belonging elsewhere.
To the right, across the square they moved,
Retreating in hexameter;
And being removed, were lugged off
For dead. And none remarked the loss.
THIRD VARIATION ON A THEME
Stars were rushing by. Capes lay bathed
In
the sea. Salt went blind, and tears dried up.
The bedroom lay in darkness; thoughts rushed by
As
the Sphinx intently listened to the Sahara.
Candles guttered and the blood of the
Colossus appeared to freeze. The desert's
Blue smile overflowed its lips; and when
The tide ebbed, night began to waste away.
From Morocco a breeze began to stir the sea; a Syrian
Wind blew as Archangel snored in snow;
The first draught of
The Prophet
Dried as day glimmered on the Ganges.
(Translated from the Russian by R. Gregg)
