Dante
‘Il mio bel San Giovanni…’
Even after his death he did not return
to the fold of his native Florence.
This song is in praise of one
who left without a backward glance.
Nightfall: flames, a last embrace;
outside, the siren wail of fate.
Even in hell he cursed her,
and in paradise, could not forget her,
but neither would he stoop to walk,
in a hair shirt, with lighted candle,
barefoot, her beloved streets,
base, perfidious, yearned for...
1936
to the fold of his native Florence.
This song is in praise of one
who left without a backward glance.
Nightfall: flames, a last embrace;
outside, the siren wail of fate.
Even in hell he cursed her,
and in paradise, could not forget her,
but neither would he stoop to walk,
in a hair shirt, with lighted candle,
barefoot, her beloved streets,
base, perfidious, yearned for...
1936
poetrymagazines notes: Anna Akhmatova's Russian texts copyright © 2005 by Margarita Novgorodova. The rights are granted by FTM Agency, Ltd., Russia
Translated by Colette Bryce
Page(s) 18
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