Alexander Blok (born 28 November, 1880; died 7 August, 1921), pictured above in a 1907 watercolor portrait by Konstantin Somov (1869-1939), in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
She Came Out of the Frost…
She came out of the frost,
Her cheeks glowing,
And filled the room with
Freshness of air and perfume,
A ringing voice
And chatter
Utterly disrespectful
Of serious pursuits.
She proceeded to drop
A fat volume of an art review
On the floor,
And suddenly
My room
Began to look fearfully crowded.
All this was somewhat annoying
And rather absurd.
She asked me, however,
To read Macbeth to her.
When I came to: “The earth hath bubbles …*
(I cannot say it without agitation),
I noticed she too was agitated
And was staring out of the window,
It appears that a large spotted tomcat
Was cautiously crawling
Along the edge of the roof
After two doves that were billing.
I got angry, chiefly
Because the doves, not we, were kissing,
And the days of Paolo and Francesca were gone.
Her cheeks glowing,
And filled the room with
Freshness of air and perfume,
A ringing voice
And chatter
Utterly disrespectful
Of serious pursuits.
She proceeded to drop
A fat volume of an art review
On the floor,
And suddenly
My room
Began to look fearfully crowded.
All this was somewhat annoying
And rather absurd.
She asked me, however,
To read Macbeth to her.
When I came to: “The earth hath bubbles …*
(I cannot say it without agitation),
I noticed she too was agitated
And was staring out of the window,
It appears that a large spotted tomcat
Was cautiously crawling
Along the edge of the roof
After two doves that were billing.
I got angry, chiefly
Because the doves, not we, were kissing,
And the days of Paolo and Francesca were gone.
(1908)
—translated from the Russian by Babette Deutsch
