web analytics

Elizabeth Barrett Browning – How Do I Love Thee?

This is the poem I shall be working on translating, most likely, in 2013. 2012 has resulted in a few good translations of poems, as well as some prose pieces. Among them – translations from Robert Burns, George Orwell, Vita Sackville-West, Omar Khayyam, and W. H. Auden, and a poem by contemporary poet and author Adrian Slatcher.

http://poemflow.com/bin/flowWidget.swf

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Moscow New Year Decorations: Cheap Treats

I have to say, Moscow City government seems in no big hurry this year to decorate the city centre for the festive season. New Year trees have already sprung up in and around some public places, particularly shopping centres. The Mayor’s house was also decorated in advance. However, some of the places (like The Russian State Library) didn’t have any decorations even on December 20, and Tverskaya St was only being planted with real Xmas trees on the same day. The decision to use real, not artificial, fir trees was not bad as such, but as it happens the execution of such decision has left a lot to be desired. You can see that toys were taken straight from the shop and hung on the branches – even labels were not taken off.

My short walk down Tverskaya St on that terribly frosty and cold winter evening brought yet another gem of a bizarre coincidence. Similar to a project that once toon place in York (UK), Tverskaya and some adjacent streets are decorated with reproductions of well-known paintings by Russian artist. For the purpose of this post I suggest to contemplate this photo. A beautiful naked lady brushes her black hair in a painting by Karl Brullov. It’s minus 15, as a matter of fact, and just looking at her makes one shiver with cold. One would’ve thought that these paintings could be at least complementary to the season. Alas, it seems this thought hasn’t crossed the minds of those behind the project.

error: Sorry, no copying !!