My Translation of Marina Tsvetaeva’s Cycle “Girlfriend” – Part 2

17.07.201931.08.2019 ~ Veronica

*Illustration: Ladies and a Cat, Louis Icart, 1923*

***
 Under the plush plaid's tender softness
 I lie, remembering last night.
 Was it a dream? - Who broke the fortress? -
 Who lost the fight?
 
 Again comes bitter rumination,
 And suffering hits me anew.
 Words can't define this revelation -
 Do I love you? 

 Who was the hunter? - Who - the victim? 
 The devil has reversed it all!
 What purring, wise Siberian kitten
 May now recall? 

 In that self-willed and fervent duel,
 Who held the shield, and who - the sword?
 Whose heartbeat - Yours or mine - was cruel,
 And raced, and soared?
 
 What - after all - was our story?
 What do I long for and regret?
 Still wondering: was this my glory?
 Or my death-bed?
 

 October 23, 1914

Click to see the original poem

Published by Veronica

Hello, lovely stranger! My name is Veronika Sizova, and I am currently studying in Canada. Since early childhood, I have been mesmerized by the literary art. The words – exquisite, intricately intertwined, sophisticated, magnificently powerful and fragile simultaneously, – remind me of the oceanic waves, and poetry hides in their unfathomable depths. This place is meant to become a sanctuary for the tortured souls, aflame with a passion for literature. View all posts by Veronica