Osip Mandelshtam

I could not among the misty clouds
Your unstable and painful image catch,
"Oh, my God", I promptly said aloud,
Having not a thought these words to fetch.

As a bird -- an immense bird and sound --
Holly Name flew out of my chest.
And ahead the  mist mysterious crowds,
And the empty cage behind me rests.


Translated by Yevgeny Bonver October, 1994