Fedor Tyutchev

The sadness gripped my heart -- and dimly 
Came the remembrance of the old,
When all was going well and simply, 
And life -- a dream of the real world.

But here the world is lost and fired: 
All's topsy-turvy, run and felled, --   
In Heaven, Holly God expired, 
And Satan croaked in the Hell.  

They live, lost any life's intentions, 
Elsewhere is grumbling, fight and fraud, 
If a bit of love weren't in the question,
Long time ago, I'd leave the world.


Translated by Yevgeny Bonver, October, 2000