Heaven Above, Heaven Below
July 6, 2023Epistle (to the author of The Three Impostors)
July 6, 2023Clothed In Beauty
As if chiseled, a fruit-laden branch
Hangs in my garden, asleep – so low…
The trees sleep – and dream? – in moonlight;
And the mystery of their life is near, near…
Even if we cannot grasp it,
The mute language is still intelligible:
They use our beauty to express
How we are one amidst rays and spots of light.
And the tremor of any life’s creation
Reveals itself in a lovely form;
And the variance of different things is sweetened
By shared beauty. Multiply it!
And the world will be like this unstirring garden,
Where everything heeds a harmonious silence:
Both stem and flower yield to the dear Earth;
Both flower and stem listen to the Moon.
Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov
Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov (1866-1949) was a Russian poet and philosopher who is known for his complex and multi-layered works. He was part of the Symbolist movement and his writing often dealt with spiritual and metaphysical themes. Ivanov was also a prominent literary critic and a leading figure in the Russian cultural scene.