Anna Akhmatova A, ti doomal—Sonnet dated July 1921

"You thought I was the kind"

You thought I was the kind
you could forget for free.
Perhaps I'd sob and whine,
get trampled by a horse,
or go and ask the sorcerers
for magic tea,
and send an awesome gift:
my scented handkerchief.

Damned if you'll get one sigh
or glance. I swear it by
the angels' garden, by
the wonder-working icon,
by our passion's fiery dance:
Come back to you? Fat chance!

Petersburg, July 1921

translation © 2001 Leonard Cottrell. All rights reserved.
main index for rhymed translations

*

A, ti doomal—ya tozhe takaya,
chto mozhno zabit' menya
i chto broshoos, molya i ridaya,
pod kopita gnyedovo konya.

Ili stanoo prosit' oo znacharok
v nagovornoi vodye koreshok
i prishlyoo tebye strashnyi podarok—
moi zavetnyi dooshisti platok.

Bood' zhe proklyat. Ni stonom, ni vzglyadom
okayannoi dooshi nye kosnoos,
po klyanoos tebye angel'skim sadom,
choodotvornoi ikonoi klyanoos'
i nochei nashich plamennim chadom—
ya k tebye nikogda nye bernoos'.

Yooli 1921
Peterboorg