PoemGrey-Eyed King (Another Translation)
Author / PoetAnna Akhmatova
ReferenceTranslated by Yevgeny Bonver
TagsAutumn, King, Loss, Pain

Hail! Hail to thee, o, immovable pain!
The young grey-eyed king had been yesterday slain.

This autumnal evening was stuffy and red.
My husband, returning, had quietly said,

“He’d left for his hunting; they carried him home;
They’d found him under the old oak’s dome.

I pity the queen. He, so young, past away!…
During one night her black hair turned to grey.”

He found his pipe on a warm fire-place,
And quietly left for his usual race.

Now my daughter will wake up and rise —
Mother will look in her dear grey eyes…

And poplars by windows rustle as sing,
“Never again will you see your young king…”

Anna Akhmatova
Anna Akhmatova
23 Jun 1889 - 5 Mar 1966
Region: Eastern Europe
Period: Modernist
Movement: Acmeism
Awards: Lenin Prize

more poems by Anna Akhmatova

Poem NameTopic
March ElegyMemory, Treasures, Wandering
White NightDoor, Hell, Sunset
You Thought I Was That TypeBetrayal, Defiance, Finality
You Will Hear ThunderDeparture, Fire, Longing
You’ll live, but I’ll notDeath, Fate, Freedom
True TendernessDesire, Love, Silence
To The ManyForgetfulness, Love, Reflection
Sunshine Has Filled The RoomBirthday, Dreams, Snow
SolitudeMuse, Stones, Sunrise
Memory Of SunChange, Isolation, Memory

all poems by Anna Akhmatova

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