Osip Emilevich Mandelstam Dream Poems
- 1. I Want To Serve You
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I want to serve you
On an equal footing with others;
... - 2. Every Church Sings Its Own Soft Part
Every church sings its own soft part
In the polyphony of a girl's choir,
And in the stone arches of the Assumption
I make out high, arched brows.
... - 3. The Falling Is The Constant Mate Of Fear
The falling is the constant mate of fear,
And feel of emptiness is the feel of fright.
Who throws us the stones from the height --
And stones here refuse the dust to bear?
... - 4. I Dream Of Hunchbacked Tiflis
I dream of hunchbacked Tiflis,
Where a Sazandar's groan resounds
The people cluster on the bridge,
The crowd carpets the whole capital,
... - 5. If I Am To Know How To Restrain Your Hands
If I am to know how to restrain your hands,
If I am to betray the tender, salty lips,
I must wait for daybreak in the dense acropolis.
How I hate those ancient weeping timbers .
... - 6. Let Us Go Where There Are Varied Crafts
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Let us go where there are varied crafts
And trades -- shashlik and chebureki,
... - 7. Tortoise
On the stony spurs of Pierius
The Muses conducted the first round dance
So like bees, blind lyrists might give us Ionic honey.
A great chill blew
... - 8. The Decembrist
'To this the pagan senate bears witness:
-- THESE DEEDS SHALL NEVER DIE! -- '
He lit his pipe and wrapped his cloak around
While some play chess nearby.
... - 9. When On The Squares And In Solitary Silence
When on the squares and in solitary silence
We slowly go out of our minds,
Brutal winter will offer us
Cold and clear Rhine wine.
...
