A Fragment from Gumilev (2). Translated from the Russian by Simon R Gladdish
Imr
There were Pleiades in the sky, as on a woman’s dress,
Diamonds, full of fire.
Her brothers walked patrols,
And every one of them wanted to destroy me.
But I sneaked into her like a serpent.
Already she was undressed for bed
And said: ” I won’t be yours,
Why won’t you meet me openly? “
But anyway gave in to me, we used
A counterpane to cover up the traces.
So we came there where calyxes of white lilies
Stand proudly in the middle of the water.
There I took her head in my hands and
She threw her arms around my torso.
How hot her mouth was, her shining breasts
Could only be compared to mirrors,
Her eyes were timid, as the eyes of a gazelle
With her young calf,
And since then the stupefying smell
Of musk in my bed is ineradicable.
… But what’s the matter? Why you are crying?
Martin Derksema
Pfew. Such strong images and emotions. Fantastic poetry. Unique, candid style of poetry too. The words are both tender and rough; I like that. Very powerful and a great and carefully made translation.
Rusty Woodward... replied
Hello Martin! How are you? Hope you are enjoying the sunshine and the wine. Thanks for taking the time to read the ‘Fragment’. Simon is delighted. It took a lot of Vodka and many late nights to translate this work. I think it was worth it though.