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“Heart’s memory of sun grows fainter …” by Anna Akhmatova 🇷🇺 (23 Jun 1889 – 5 Mar 1966)
Translated from the Russian by Stanley Kunitz
Heart’s memory of sun grows fainter.
Sallow is the grass,
A few flakes toss in the wind
Scarcely, scarcely.
​
The narrow canals no longer flow,
They are frozen over.
Nothing will ever happen here.
Oh, never!
​
In the bleak sky the willow spreads
Its bare-boned fan.
Maybe I’m better off as I am,
Not as your wife.
​
Heart’s memory of sun grows fainter.
What’s this? Darkness?
Perhaps! This very night will bring
The winter.