I
In that burning light I suffocate -
Under those eyes like the sun's rays
I shudder: this one
Will tame me.
He leans close to tell me something . . .
And all the blood leaves my face.
May love like a tombstone close over my life.
II
II
You don't love me?
You don't want to look at me?
O wretch!
How handsome you are!
And I can no longer fly,
I, who had wings even as a child.
Fog covers my eyes,
Blurs faces and lights.
E see only the red tulip,
The red tulip in your buttonhole.
Anna Akhmatova
1889 - 1966
