Marina Tsvetaeva

And now, loading the camel's hump
With worldly troubles, heavy as a rock,
We leave -- the camel's humble and plump --
To finish the 'unfinishable' work:

In herds of camels -- to enjoy a pool,
In Hell of sands -- to see Blue Nile in thoughts,
As camel's lord and Lord installed a rule --
To bear his cross in Camel's way and God's.

And when the desert shifts to red from black
The humps will ache, and salesmen try to list
The kinds of ailments able to attack
This very kind and manageable beast.

But never looking for a helping hand,
Ahead, ahead with burning lips to lump
To Holy day in which the Holy Land --
A giant hump -- will rise above the humps.


Translated by Yevgeny Bonver, May 1994 -- October 1996
Edited by Dmitry Karshtedt, November 1996.