Modern Russian Poetry/The Cosmic Fabric
THE COSMIC FABRIC[1]
This vast web, of Nature's weaving,
Is God's garment, so 'tis said.
In that fabric I—a living,
I—a still unbroken thread.
And the threads run swiftly, never
Halting, yet if once they sever,
Seer or sage shall not suffice
Then the parted strands to splice.
For the Weaver so will veil them
That (let him who may bewail them)
None the ends shall ever find,
Nor one broken thread rebind.
Ceaselessly the threads are breaking,—
Short, ah short will be my span!
Meanwhile, at His fabric's making
Toils the cosmic Artisan,—
Curious patterns still designing,
Wave and crested hill defining,
Steppe and pasture, cloud and sky,
Wood and field of golden rye.
Though with care the wise may scan it,
Flawless since that Hand began it,
Smooth and fine with fair accord—
Shines the garment of the Lord!
- ↑ Tr. by Avrahm Yarmolinsky and Cecil Cowdrey.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
| Original: |
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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|---|---|
| Translation: |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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