Я знаю скит в лесу дремучем;
он там не первый век стоит.
Когда суетность жизни мучит,
я ухожу в тот дальний скит.
Где скат просеки чист и ровен,
высоким обнесен плетнем,
он крепко сбит из древних бревен,
и тихо и нестрашно в нем.
Шумят деревья. Пахнет медом,
немного воском и смолой.
Нечасто солнце мимоходом
пронзает заросли стрелой.
13 июня 1991 г.
489. Плач по харбинскому разрушенному Св. Николаевскому собору[230]
Помолитесь о нашем храме —
что закрыт, разрушен, разбит,
неовеянный в фимиаме —
в кучах мусора был зарыт!
Не звонит его колокольня,
не блестят его купола…
Сердцу холодно, сердцу больно
от людского горького зла…
Над мощами храма потемки,
но забыть его не хочу!
За его святые обломки
зажигаю свою свечу.
22 марта 1994 г.
490. «Темные ели стоят стеной…»
Темные ели стоят стеной
около дома, надо мной.
[Начало 1990-х гг.]
491. «Тихий ангел за моим плечом…»
Тихий ангел за моим плечом
отпирает дверь своим ключом,
и куда мне надо, я вхожу,
и кого мне надо, нахожу.
Шелестят вечерню тополя.
Засыпает мирная земля.
На душе — смиренье и покой,
ласковый и радостный такой.
[Начало 1990-х гг.]
Часть III. Стихотворения на английском языке, не вошедшие в сборники
492. «I dreamt of northern summers…»
I dreamt of northern summers
And days of long ago.
I dream t of gloomy Finland
And woods we used to know.
The visions of my childhood,
Sweet visions would arise
And pass away, like shadows,
Before my mind's eyes.
Along the rocky seashore
Alone I used to roam
And listen to the breakers
And watch the rushing foam
I loved the mossy meadows,
The pines and granite heights,
I loved the pale shadows
Of cool September nights.
26 Aug. 1920
493 A Prayer
Oh, Angels of Heaven! Help me,
I tire in the constant strife,
I feel I am growing weaker
With ev'ry fresh battle of life.
Oh, hear my prayer, holy spirits!
I do not want luck or gold,
I ask for a gift divine
That cannot be bought or sold.
Give me the soul of a poet,
That's filled with music and love,
And let my heart stay unspoiled
And pure as the sky above…
25 Dec. 1920
494 My First Speech
I cannot think of something bright
Or something that would fit;
You know, I never had much wit,
I lost it all tonight.
Of course, it's very impolite
Since I've been asked to speak,
But if one's intellect is weak
He never does what's right.
My speech was very short, you see,
And there was nothing to it.
I'm sorry; won't you pardon me?
I really hope I'll do it.
[1921 г.]
495. Chinese Lampshade
I have a pretty little shade
From Lantern street, Beitsing;
It's not so beautifully made,
But, oh, I love the thing!
My friends — they find its colors bright,
It hurts their eyes it seems;
But when it shines on me at night
It speaks of wondrous dream s…
They take me back to places I have known.
To ancient temples I have worshipped in;
They make me smell the incense that was blown
Before the gods and goddesses w ithin…
Upon the lantern's yellow, velvet ray
I travel back, as fast as thought can dare,
Back to a walled-in city far away,
Where lamps like mine are all night long aglare.
The richaws pitter-patter down the street,
A dusty street outside the City wall,
And all you do is — watch the sights you meet,
And hear the noises spreading over all.
Perhaps it's garish, and the colors severe,
But I forget the beauty you all know
For just a glimpse of lanterns over there —
In old Beitsing, the place where I would go.
[1921 г.]
496. «I bought a frame to fit..»
I bought a frame to fit
a dream I dreamt one night —
that I could often sit
and revel in the sight.
I put it in — but then
it vanished from the frame,
and never more again
I dreamt it just the same.
I got a jar of glass
to keep a lovely flower;
I placed it there — alas,
it wilted in an hour.
I saw a human soul
and gave that soul a song
But now I know its dole:
it will not live there long.
[1921 г.]
вернуться
230
Св. Николаевский собор: St. Nicholas cathedral in Harbin, built in the center of the administrative part of the city in 1899–1901, during the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway. It was completely destroyed in August 1966 during the Cultural Revolution in China.