This leaf, this withered leaf,<\/p>\n
Which listlessly downward drifts,<\/p>\n
Tomorrow will rise again,<\/p>\n
Will settle on a branch\u2019s sprig<\/p>\n
This snow, this purest snow,<\/p>\n
Which lies on the ground still,<\/p>\n
To the heavens tomorrow will soar,<\/p>\n
To the stars it will steer<\/p>\n
This bow-backed, grey-haired man,<\/p>\n
Like a mirrored light in space,<\/p>\n
Will come to his derelict home,<\/p>\n
Will start living anew his days<\/p>\n
We will see how the rivers turn<\/p>\n
To their springs in the thicket depth,<\/p>\n
And I\u2019ll wake at the break of dawn<\/p>\n
On my mother\u2019s lap<\/p>\n
– Imant Ziedonis
(Latvian poet b. 1933)<\/p>\n
Winter, 1919<\/p>\n
The gust of wind, the howl of snow\u2026<\/p>\n
Yet, for a moment in my mind,<\/p>\n
A land, a distant shore would glow<\/p>\n
With faded colours from behind.<\/p>\n
And like the dried-up feather-grass<\/p>\n
My ancient longings spring from sleep\u2026<\/p>\n
At night ‘mid snow I try to pass –<\/p>\n
Though, to the precipice I creep.<\/p>\n
Night, woods and snow I have to wade,<\/p>\n
To carry burden of my lot\u2026<\/p>\n
Then, suddenly \u2013 a little hut,<\/p>\n
A girl singing in the glade.<\/p>\n
June, 1905<\/p>\n
Love Eternity reigning in mires,<\/p>\n
Their powers never deplete.<\/p>\n
Grassy land never yields to the fires,<\/p>\n
Smallest thicket will stand up the sleet.<\/p>\n
Rusty tussocks and stumps get to know<\/p>\n
Your reposing captivity age;<\/p>\n
They are staying unchanged in the flow \u2013<\/p>\n
You are full of perennial change.<\/p>\n
Love the destiny\u2019s glowing delight.<\/p>\n
Inconceivable sacred Unknown.<\/p>\n
It is just the Eternity flight<\/p>\n
Which has silenced the lips of our own.<\/p>\n
Little Marsh Devils<\/p>\n
January, 1905<\/p>\n
I have whipped you out of sight<\/p>\n
Through the midday soot;<\/p>\n
To await the evening light<\/p>\n
Of quite solitude.<\/p>\n
Now \u2013 we\u2019re sitting on a moss<\/p>\n
In the heart of fen;<\/p>\n
Crescent with a crooked mouth<\/p>\n
Is our only friend.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m like you \u2013 a nature geek,<\/p>\n
With a spooky face;<\/p>\n
Quiet and shy like forest creek<\/p>\n
In a hiding place.<\/p>\n
Loosely hangs a parting bell<\/p>\n
On my foolish cap.<\/p>\n
Rivers weaving through the spell<\/p>\n
Of a nature\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n
And we\u2019re sitting, little fools \u2013<\/p>\n
Greenish caps on heads,<\/p>\n
Peeping from the low-land pools<\/p>\n
Into wider meads.<\/p>\n
Dream deliriums of water,<\/p>\n
Rusty run-off wave\u2026<\/p>\n
We\u2019re forgotten echoings<\/p>\n
Of a someone\u2019s rave\u2026<\/p>\n
– Alexander Blok
(1880 – 1921)<\/p>\n
Translated by Victor Postnikov<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This leaf, this withered leaf, Which listlessly downward drifts, Tomorrow will rise again, Will settle on a branch\u2019s sprig This snow, this purest snow, Which lies on the ground still, To the heavens tomorrow will soar, To the stars it will steer This bow-backed, grey-haired man, Like a mirrored light in space, Will come to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[16,139,94,111],"class_list":["post-129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-alexander-bloc","tag-poetry","tag-russia","tag-victor-postnikov"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stuzog.com\/dandeliontimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}