Awake My Soul!
July 5, 2023Lying in me
July 5, 2023Why Is This Age Worse…?
Why is this age worse than earlier ages?
In a stupor of grief and dread
have we not fingered the foulest wounds
and left them unhealed by our hands?
In the west the falling light still glows,
and the clustered housetops glitter in the sun,
but here Death is already chalking the doors with crosses,
and calling the ravens, and the ravens are flying in.
Translated by Stanley Kunitz (with Max Hayward)
Anna Akhmatova
Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) was a Russian poet who is widely considered to be one of the greatest female poets of the 20th century. Her work was often critical of the Soviet government, and she faced censorship and persecution as a result. Some of her famous works include "Requiem" and "Poem Without a Hero."