Like the typical Russian, I love Pushkin’s work. It’s so profound and heartbreaking and it captures the very essence of all tortured souls. Unfortunately, it’s really difficult to translate and make it sound as good in English as it sounds in Russian. Nonetheless, I tried. Here’s my favorite Puskin poem, translated by yours truly.
The Angel
By the gates of Eden, an Angel, gentle
Shone with his softly drooping head,
And in the darkness a Demon, rebel
Over the hellish ravine fled
The sp’rit of doubt and of negation
Looked at the other one of good
And in a flame of forced elation
For the first time, he understood
“Pardon,” he said, “but I have seen you
And not in vain you’ve shined me light
Not all in heaven I had hated,
Not all on earth I had despised.”
Alexander Pushkin
Translated by Viktoria Nikola
