Konstantin Balmont

The artist lissome as a leopardess,
And in his wisdom – the first cunning snake.
All his creations has the outbreak –
Scent of the ladanum, belladonna, nardus…

The god of dreams liked tunes that he, a bard, used.
A whiz – he could each mystery unpack
With purr ‘you’re mine’ and with a gentle peck.
So, not in vain, his name is Leonardo.    
 
Of two spread wings – a lion-man he was,
A time bit more – and, with his sharp lynx’s vision,
Just having spied the flight of godly birds,

He was to glide into the airy regions.
Mid humane streams, pursuing the dead glen,
He had divined the future superman.    


Translated by Yevgeny Bonver, September, 2003