Shadows in the Crimson Moon

English translation of Nikolai Gumilev's poem "У скалистого ущелья" (‘By the Rocky Gorge’)

In a valley cold and hollow,
Where the silver waters shine,
I was standing by the river,
Lost in echoes of my mind.
And the moon, a crimson lantern,
Broke the clouds in burning light,
Painting ghostly, trembling visions
On the trembling waves of night.

From the mist they rose before me -
All the dreams I used to chase,
All the hopes I traded cheaply
For the world’s deceitful grace.
Every wish my youth had carried,
Every spark of strength I knew,
Stood before me, pale and silent,
Like a long-forgotten truth.

Oh, shadows in the crimson moon,
Why have you returned so soon?
All I lost and left behind
Now stands living in my mind.
Oh, I cry, but tears just fall
To mountains that repeat my call -
Endless echoes, cold and true,
Dying slowly in the blue.

What I sold for gold and glory,
What I never can reclaim,
Now is haunting me in silence,
Calling out my hidden shame.
On the edge above the chasm,
With the wind against my face,
I can feel my heart remembering
Every joy it can’t replace.

Oh, shadows in the crimson moon,
Why have you returned so soon?
All I lost and left behind
Now stands living in my mind.

If I could turn the rivers back,
Undo the scars, reverse the track,
I’d save the light I once betrayed…
But night is deep. The shadows stay.

Oh, shadows in the crimson moon,
Fade into the sky too soon.
Let my sorrow drift away,
Like the stars before the day.
Still the mountains call my name -
Echoes answer, just the same…
And I stand here, lost and true -
Under skies of crimson blue.

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Here's a link to the song:

https://disk.yandex.ru/d/z0Ao9V4hX4b6hw

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This song in Russian via the link:

http://stihi.ru/2025/10/23/7011