An Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry/Czech Poetry/Antonín Sova
ANTONÍN SOVA
(1864–1928)
Sova was born in Pacov but spent most of his time in Prague, where he was recognized as the foremost rival of Machar and one of the masters of modern Czech poetry. Keenly sensitive to the sorrows of the world, and with a genius approaching that of Shelley, Sova acquired a mellowness and a musical touch which are lacking to many poets who understand well the sufferings of humanity.
YOUR HOME IS ALL ENSHRINED WITHIN THIS HEART OF MINE
Your home is all enshrined within this heart of mine . . . .I see a hill, as on this sprig of dwarfed pineI gaze,—a path, and wooded gorge; I hear againThe echoes—there and all this nearness brings me pain.These bellflowers, withered now, were wont to pealAs evening from the silence of the stars did steal.I kiss the humble daisy from the fallow landWhere home gleamed through the dusk, while we walked hand in hand;Upon the arbor wall this yellow-gray moss grew,Where in the fragrance of the rose I rested oft with you.And from the weeping willow tree I plucked this leaf,Where o’er your sun-flecked grave it stands so mute with grief.Translated by Libuše Breuer Scholten