My Translation of Marina Tsvetaeva’s Cycle “Girlfriend” – Part 8

~ Veronica
This is an art deco painting of a pale young woman with short red hair in a light summer dress. She is resting on the terrace at midnight with her head turned to the full moon shining over the sea in the distance. She seem melancholy and serene at the same time.
Illustration: Rêverie au clair de lune by René Balades (French, 20th century)
My Translation:
***
Midnight—over the coffee grounds
She cries, looking toward the East.
Her mouth is innocent and unbound,
Half—a flower, and half—a beast.

Soon a crescent—young and slender—
Shall replace the scarlet dawn 
All my combs I will surrender,
All my rings - to you alone!

Waxing moon between the branches
Did not shelter anyone.
I will give you all my bracelets,
All my chains - to you alone!

As though under a heavy mane
Your luminous pupils shine!
Are your comrades jealous in vain? -
The full-blooded horses stay light!

(December 6, 1914)

Tsvetaeva's Original:
***
Ночью над кофейной гущей
Плачет, глядя на Восток.
Рот невинен и распущен,
Как чудовищный цветок.

Скоро месяц — юн и тонок —
Сменит алую зарю.
Сколько я тебе гребёнок
И колечек подарю!

Юный месяц между веток
Никого не устерёг.
Сколько подарю браслеток,
И цепочек, и серёг!

Как из-под тяжёлой гривы
Блещут яркие зрачки!
Спутники твои ревнивы? —
Кони кровные легки!

(6 декабря 1914)

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.

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