“I went to bliss; the footpath gleamed”

I went to bliss; the footpath gleamed
The ruby tint of evening dew;
And ebbing in my spirit streamed
The far-off voice of dawn anew.

The song of dawn, ensconcing me
Surged forth to fade; the heavens glowed;
And through the welkin’s depthless seas
The flames of evening purple flowed.

My spirit blazed, around me streamed
Through evening, daybreak’s song anew.
I went to bliss; the footpath gleamed
The ruby tint of evening dew.

By Aleksandr Blok
translated, from the Russian, by Max Thompson

 
Max Thompson is a translator of Russian prose and poetry, principally of the 20th century, and is currently working on Chingiz Aitmatov’s novella “The White Steamship.” He is a 2nd-year MFA student in creative writing and translation at the University of Arkansas.

Aleksandr Blok is the greatest Symbolist poet of the Russian “Silver Age” of poetry (in the early 20th century), and his work influenced a great many poets who were to follow him, including Anna Akhmatova.