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“Your palms are fiery …” by Anna Akhmatova 🇷🇺 (23 Jun 1889 – 5 Mar 1966)
Translated from the Russian by Andrey Kneller
“Your palms are fiery,
The Easter bells ring loud,
You’re tempted, like St. Anthony,
By visions all around.”
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“How was such day’s affair
Mixed with the holy days,
Like thick and tangled hair
Of Magdalenes half-crazed.”
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“Thus only children love,
Just once, and then it dies.”
“No light is strong enough—
To match those tranquil eyes.”
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“This is the devil’s bluff,
Such longing—an offense.”
“No white is white enough—
To match that of her hands.”