back to Vladislav Khodasevich

“Lady’s washed her hands so long …” by Vladislav Khodasevich 🇷🇺 (28 May 188614 Jun 1939)
Translated from the Russian by Peter Daniels
Lady’s washed her hands so long,
Lady’s scrubbed her hands so hard,
and this lady won’t forget
the blood around the neck.
Lady, lady! Like a bird
you twitch about your sleepless bed.
Three hundred years you’ve had no sleep—
and six years now I’ve stayed awake.