Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin Poems
- 1. On The Death Of Prince Meshchersky
O, Voice of time! O, metal's clang!
Your dreadful call distresses me,
Your groan doth beckon, beckon me
It beckons, brings me closer to my grave.
... - 2. God
O Thou, who's infinite in space,
Alive in ever-moving matter,
Eternal in the flow of time,
God faceless, with a trinity of faces!
... - 3. To Rulers And Judges
He's risen - Highest God - to do the judgment, fair,
Of the earthly ones in their whole band;
How long - he sad - how long will you else spare
The unjust and wicked people in your land.
... - 4. Monument
I built myself a monument, eternal and miraculous,
It's higher than the Pyramids, than metal it is harder;
Swift winds and thunder cannot knock it down
The flight of time cannot demolish it.
... - 5. The Current Of Time's River
The current of time's river
Will carry off all human deeds
And sink into oblivion
All peoples, kingdoms and their kings.
... - 6. The Bullfinch
Why do you strike up songs military
Fife-like, o, bullfinch, my friend?
Who'll take the lead in our fight with Hell's forces?
Who will command us? What Hercules?
... - 7. Felitsa
God-like Tsarevna
Of the Kirgiz-Kaisatskii horde!
Whose wisdom matchless
Opened the true path
... - 8. On A Bird
A sweet-voiced bird's been caught.
They squeeze it in a vice-like grip.
The poor thing squeaks and warbles not
But they insist: "O, birdie, sing!"
... - 9. The Swan
I'll leave the mortal world behind,
Take wing in an flight fantastical,
With singing, my eternal soul
Will rise up swan-like in the air.
...
