To Osip Mandelstam by Marina Tsvetaeva
Nothing’s been taken away!
We’re apart — I’m delighted by this!
Across the hundreds of miles
that divide us, I send you my kiss.
Our gifts, I know, are unequal.
For the first time my voice is still.
What, my young Derzhavin, do
you make of my doggrel?
For your terrible flight I baptized you —
young eagle, it’s time to take wing!
You endured the sun without blinking,
but my gaze — that’s a different thing!
None ever watched your departure
more tenderly than this
or more finally. Across hundreds
of summers, I send you my kiss.
Read More Marina Tsvetaeva
Marina Tsvetaeva, alongside Anna Akhmatova and Osip Mandelstam, is one of my favorite Russian poets. Her work is so special, unique, and moving. She is responsible for some of my favorite imagery of all time. I highly encourage you to read more of her work. Her Collected Poems is the best collection by far.
Additionally, check out more about her life here, or read more Russian poems here, here, and here.
Thanks for reading!
