Stephen Crane

On the desert
A silence from the moon's deepest valley.
Fire rays fall athwart the robes
Of hooded men, squat and dumb.…

God fashioned the ship of the world carefully.
With the infinite skill of an All-Master
Made He the hull and the sails,
Held He the rudder…

Should the wide world roll away,
Leaving black terror,
Limitless night,
Nor God, nor man, nor place to stand…

A man went before a strange God --
The God of many men, sadly wise.
And the deity thundered loudly,
Fat with rage, and puffing.…

Я стоял на возвышении,
А внизу было множество чертей,
Бегающих, скачущих,
Упивающихся Грехом.…

Yes, I have a thousand tongues,
And nine and ninety-nine lie.
Though I strive to use the one,
It will make no melody at my will,…

There came whisperings in the winds:
”Good-bye! Good-bye!”
Little voices called in the darkness:
”Good-bye! Good-bye!”…

Charity thou art a lie,
A toy of women,
A pleasure of certain men.
In the presence of justice,…

A youth in apparel that glittered
Went to walk in a grim forest.
There he met an assassin
Attired all in garb of old days;…

Да, тысяча языков у меня во рту,
Но девятьсот девяносто девять лгут.
Я надеялся, что последний
Поможет мне пропеть то, что я хочу,…

There was crimson clash of war.
Lands turned black and bare;
Women wept;
Babes ran, wondering.…

На небесах
Предстали перед Богом
Маленькие травинки.
- Что вы свершили в жизни? - спросил он.…

Fast rode the knight
With spurs, hot and reeking,
Ever waving an eager sword,
”To save my lady!”…

On the horizon the peaks assembled;
And as I looked,
The march of the mountains began.
As they marched, they sang,…

A little ink more or less!
I surely can’t matter?
Even the sky and the opulent sea,
The plains and the hills, aloof,…

Behold, from the land of the farther suns
I returned.
And I was in a reptile-swarming place,
Peopled, otherwise, with grimaces,…

A spirit sped
Through spaces of night;
And as he sped, he called,
”God! God!”…

If there is a witness to my little life,
To my tiny throes and struggles,
He sees a fool;
And it is not fine for gods to menace fools.

And you love meI love you.You are, then, cold coward.Aye; but, beloved,
When I strive to come to you,
Man's opinions, a thousand thickets,
My interwoven existence,…

The trees in the garden rained flowers.
Children ran there joyously.
They gathered the flowers
Each to himself.…

И грехи отцов падут на головы
детей вплоть до третьего и
четвертого колена ненавидящих меня.Да, потому я ненавижу тебя, неправедный кумир,
Злобный идол, я ненавижу тебя.…

When the prophet, a complacent fat man,
Arrived at the mountain-top,
He cried: ”Woe to my knowledge!
I intended to see good white lands…

Гремел багровый гром войны.
Опустошенная земля почернела,
Женщины плакали,
Дети метались в испуге.…

Many red devils ran from my heart
And out upon the page,
They were so tiny
The pen could mash them.…