Thanks to the wonderfully literate Artemis, whose library is apparently infinite, I have discovered several new poets, including Pavel Antokolsky and Georgy Ivanov. As many of the poets she features on her blog are not American, finding their works translated into English has been challenging. (While I have some abilities with French and Italian, that’s the limit—so reading the sublime Greek, Turkish, Russian, etc. poets in their native language is not in my immediate future.)

However, with Alibris to the rescue, I am now the proud owner of a former library copy of Twentieth Century Russian Poetry
by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Max Hayward (Editor), and Albert C Todd, III (Editor).

All 1,078 pages of it.

Which is to say, you will now be seeing more Russian poetry among my “Poem for Hela” posts.

I hope you enjoy them!

A Fixed Idea
~ Amy Lowell

What torture lurks within a single thought
When grown too constant; and however kind,
However welcome still, the weary mind
Aches with its presence. Dull remembrance taught
Remembers on unceasingly; unsought
The old delight is with us but to find
That all recurring joy is pain refined,
Become a habit, and we struggle, caught.
You lie upon my heart as on a nest,
Folded in peace, for you can never know
How crushed I am with having you at rest
Heavy upon my life. I love you so
You bind my freedom from its rightful quest.
In mercy lift your drooping wings and go.

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As One Listens To The Rain
~ Octavio Paz

Listen to me as one listens to the rain,
not attentive, not distracted,
light footsteps, thin drizzle,
water that is air, air that is time,
the day is still leaving,
the night has yet to arrive,
figurations of mist
at the turn of the corner,
figurations of time
at the bend in this pause,
listen to me as one listens to the rain,
without listening, hear what I say
with eyes open inward, asleep
with all five senses awake,
it’s raining, light footsteps, a murmur of syllables,
air and water, words with no weight:
what we are and are,
the days and years, this moment,
weightless time and heavy sorrow,
listen to me as one listens to the rain,
wet asphalt is shining,
steam rises and walks away,
night unfolds and looks at me,
you are you and your body of steam,
you and your face of night,
you and your hair, unhurried lightning,
you cross the street and enter my forehead,
footsteps of water across my eyes,
listen to me as one listens to the rain.