На островах - пер. А. Блока

On the isles
by Alexander Block

Again I see the snow-covered colums,
Two shining lights on the Elagin isle, both.
I hear the voice of woman, loving,
A crunch of sand, a snoring of horse.

Two shadows, merged to kiss each other,
Are flying near the sledges fast.
Without jealousy, without hiding,
I am with this - captured at last.

And yes, there is the sad delight, ever,
That love will pass as snow, fly.
Oh, is it necessary then to swear
In our old fidelity this time?

No, she is not the first plaything,
Whom I caress in my precise delight,
I'm lazy cherishing humiliation,
I'm fail to demand empire.

No, I today, as a strict geometrist
Am counting without words
The bridges, temples, wind so biting,
And loneliness of isles low.

I keep the ceremony: hurriedly,
I easy fill the bear skin,
Embracing her thin waist, I'm shouting
And rushing into darkness still,

And still remember her boots low,
And falling into love with furs...
The reason is, that I, for certain,
Shan't meet the groom's sharp sword before...

And, surely, no mother's waiting
Her at the doors with a candle glowing...
And no any husband's jealousy
Won't wait her at the window...

What then last night was shining ever with,
What was today's night calling for,
That is - the fairy ball continuing,
The transition from rise to fall...