Alexander Blok - How often we bemoan

How often we bemoan, my friend,   
O’er wretched life of ours !
If only had you known the dread
And dark of future hours!

Now you are holding hands with her,
And laugh, and joke, and  play,
Or cry, if she pretends to love
And hides the knife away.   
       A child, a child you stay! 

The treachery and lies prevail
While death seems far away,
The light grows dimmer every day,
And planets madly sway,
       More days, more days you pray!
       
The age that comes to us the last
Most horrible to face.
The heaven soon obliterates
The smile from a sinful face,
          The throes of a human race!...

You wait for Spring to come –
           It fails.
You call the Sun  -
           It’s gone.
You start to shout,
          But every sound   
Falls like a muffled  stone…

Be satisfied with what you’ve had,
Be happy  with your ways!
If  only had you known the dread
And dark of future days!

1910-14

vip/2009

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