"You won't leave me..."

***

Не отстать тебе! Я - острожник,

Ты - конвойный. Судьба одна.

И одна в пустоте порожней

Подорожная нам дана.

Уж и нрав у меня спокойный!

Уж и очи мои ясны!

Отпусти-ка меня, конвойный,

Прогуляться до той сосны!

26 июня 1916

*** [1]

You won’t leave me! You’re the warden.

I’m the convict. We’re chained in our lives.

And for both, one expulsion order

To hollowed emptiness applies.

And my temper is peaceful and passive!

And my vision is clear and fine!

Won’t you let me, escort, I ask you,

To take a leisurely stroll to that pine?

June 26, 1916

[1] “You won’t leave me...”, “You overshadow the sun in the sky...”, “I was given two hands...”: These poems were part of a 13-poem cycle dedicated to Anna Akhmatova.