How lovely those journeys into quiet!
Boundless the steppe, like a seascape,
ants rustle, and the feather-grass sighs,
mosquitoes go whining through space.
The hayricks line up with the clouds,
volcano after volcano, they fade.
Grown silent, damp, the boundless steppe,
you drift, youre buffeted, you sway.
The mist overtakes us, washes, a sea,
and burrs are clinging to stockings, today
its lovely to tramp the steppes shore,
you drift, youre buffeted, you sway.
Is that a rick in the mist? Who knows?
Is that one ours? Yes, its found.
There! Yes, thats it all right, though.
The rick, and the mist, and the steppe all round.
And the Milky Way slants towards Kerch,
like a path that cattle have stamped on.
Go past the houses, youll lose your breath,
on every side, broad, broad horizons.
Shadowy midnight stands by the way,
strewn with stars, that touch every verst,
and you cant cross it, beyond the fence,
without trampling the universe.
When did the stars sweep down so low,
midnight sink so deep in tall grass,
and drenched muslin, afraid, aglow,
long for a dénouement at last?
Let the steppe judge, and night decide.
When, if not in the Beginning,
did Mosquitoes whine, Ants ride,
and Burrs go clinging to stockings?
Close them, my darling! Or go blind!
The whole steppes as before the Fall:
All, drowned in peace, like a parachute,
like a heaving vision, All.
