From needle-shaped pestilential glasses | From needle-shaped pestilential glasses

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by Osip Emil'evich Mandelstam (1891 - 1938)

Translation © by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020)

В игольчатых чумных бокалах

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: ENG

В игольчатых чумных бокалах
Мы пьём наважденье причин,
Касаемся крючьями малых,
Как лёгкая смерть, величин.
И там, где сцепились бирюльки,
Ребёнок молчанье хранит,
Большая вселенная в люльке
У маленькой вечности спит.

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Osip Emil'evich Mandelstam (1891 - 1938), no title, written 1933, appears in Восьмистишия (Vos'mistishija), no. 10 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "В игольчатых чумных бокалах", op. 53 no. 5, published 1989 [ soprano, flute, horn, harp, and string trio ], from Восьмистишия = Vos'mistishija, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "From needle-shaped pestilential glasses", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Dmitri Smirnov

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-22
Line count: 8
Word count: 31

From needle‑shaped pestilential glasses

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

From needle-shaped pestilential glasses
We drink the obsession of reasons,
We touch by the hooks the small --
As-simple-death Quantities.
And there where the spillikins are chained
The baby keeps silence,
The Great Universe is sleeping
In the cradle of a small eternity.

Text Authorship:

by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "From needle-shaped pestilential glasses", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Russian (Русский) by Osip Emil'evich Mandelstam (1891 - 1938), no title, written 1933, appears in Восьмистишия (Vos'mistishija), no. 10
- Go to the text page.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-22
Line count: 8
Word count: 42