Эмили Дикинсон. To love thee Year by Year

Любовь из года в год —
Есть жертва, знаю,
Жить надо без неё —
Мне, дорогая,
Быть может краток Век, поверь, —
Я шлю цветок любви теперь.
               


434

To love thee Year by Year —   
May less appear          
Than sacrifice, and cease —
However, dear,               
Forever might be short, I thought to show —
And so I pieced it, with a flower, now.

                Emily Dickinson

<< Judith Farr, believes this is a poem for Sue, a response to Sue's rejection of or inability to return Emily's love on Emily's terms. The diction is so abbreviated that it could be read in various ways, but this is how I (finally) came to paraphrase it: "After years, my love seems less like love than sacrifice, and so I may give up. But, dear, if  "Forever"  is to be cut short, I want to show the love I still have now – and so I send this flower to prolong it even if just for a bit." Browning's most quoted poem, "How Do I Love Thee?" (Sonnet 43).>>
                Susan Kornfeld


                Стихи.ру 05 сентября 2025 года