PROLGUE II & III
II
Quietly flows the quiet Don,
Yellow moon slips into a home.
He slips in with cap askew,
He sees a shadow, yellow moon.
This woman is ill,
This woman is alone,
Husband in the grave, son in prison,
Say a prayer for me.
III
No, it is not I, it is somebody else who is suffering.
I would not have been able to bear what happened,
Let them shroud it in black,
And let them carry off the lanterns ...
Night.
1940
Trans. Judith
2
Gently flows the gentle Don,
Yellow moonlight leaps the sill,
Leaps the sill and stops aston-ished as it sees the shade
Of a woman lying ill,
Of a woman stretched alone.
Son in irons and husband clay.
Pray. Pray.
3
No, it is not I, it is someone else who is suffering.
I could not have borne it. And this thing which has
happened,
Let them cover it with black cloths,
And take away the lanterns ...
Night.
Trans. D.M. Thomas
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