Venice masks

Thursday 19 December 2013

Everything promised him to me - Anna Akhmatova

Everything promised him to me:
the fading amber edge of the sky,
and the sweet dreams of Christmas,
and the wind at Easter, loud with bells,

and the red shoots of the grapevine,
and waterfalls in the park,
and the two large dragonflies
on the rusty iron fencepost.

And I could only believe
that he would be mine
as I walked along the high slopes,
the path of burning stones.
Anna Akhmatova (1889 - 1966) Russia
Translated by Richard McKane
Source: Selected Poems Anna Akhmatova by Richard McKane, Penguin,1969
Posted by Bruce-the-Sheep at 14:46

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10 January 2020 at 15:04

    Is there a video of someone reading this poem in English?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bruce-the-Sheep12 January 2020 at 14:58

      There's a "robot voice" on Poemhunter here: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/everything/ but no real recording as far as I know; however there are lots of other readings of poems by her on YouTube

      Delete

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