White Night
July 5, 2023The Linden Avenue
July 5, 2023The shiv’ring piano, foaming at the mouth
The shiv’ring piano, foaming at the mouth,
Will wrench you by its ravings, discompose you.
“My darling,” you will murmur. “No!” I’ll shout.
“To music?!” Yet can two be ever closer
Than in the dusk, while tossing vibrant chords
Into the fireplace, like journals, tome by tome?
Oh, understanding wonderful, just nod,
And you will know I do not claim to own
Your soul and body. You may go where’er
You want. To others. Werther has been written
Already. Death these days is in the air.
One opens up one’s veins much like a window.
Boris Pasternak
Boris Pasternak (1890-1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator. He is best known for his epic novel "Doctor Zhivago," which explores the life of a poet during the Russian Revolution and the Soviet era. Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958, but was forced to decline the award due to pressure from the Soviet government. Some of his other notable works include the poetry collections "My Sister, Life" and "Themes and Variations," as well as the plays "Aerial Ways" and "The Blind Beauty."