Ona pred ikonoj stojala svjatoju;
Skrestilisja ruki, usta ševelilis';
Iz glaz eja slëzy odna za drugoju
Po blednym ščekam žemčugami katilis'.

Ona povtorjala vse č'ë-to nazvan'e,
I vzor ozarjalsja molitvennym svetom;
I bylo tak mnogo ljubvi i stradan'ja,
Tak malo nadeždy v molenii ėtom!

Ona preklonilas' i dolgo ležala,
Pril'nuv golovoju k zemle bezotvetnoj,
Kak budto v tomlen'i nemom ožidala,
Čto golos nad neju razdastsja privetnyj.

No bylo vse ticho v molčanii noči,
Lampada mercala vo mrake trevožnom,
I skorbno smotreli Spasitelja oči
[Na tu, čto s molen'em prišla nevozmožnym!]1

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¹ Rachmaninov: "На очи, просящия о невозможном."

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Text Authorship:

• by Arseny Arkad'yevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov (1848 - 1913), "Молитва", written 1868-1878, first published 1878 [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 Sergei Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943), "Пред иконой", op. 21 (Двенадцать романсов = Dvenadcat' romansov (Twelve songs)) no. 10 (1902) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• ENG English (Rianne Stam) , copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 90