| Deutsch and Yarmolinsky, comps. Modern Russian Poetry. 1921. | | | | “Like a White Stone” | | By Anna Akhmatova |
| | | LIKE a white stone deep in a draw-well lying, | |
| As hard and clear, a memory lies in me. | |
| I cannot strive nor have I heart for striving: | |
| It is such pain and yet such ecstasy. | |
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| It seems to me that someone looking closely | 5 |
| Into my eyes would see it, patent, pale. | |
| And, seeing, would grow sadder and more thoughtful | |
| Than one who listens to a bitter tale. | |
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| The ancient gods changed men to things, but left them | |
| A consciousness that smoldered endlessly, | 10 |
| That splendid sorrows might endure forever. | |
| And you are changed into a memory. | | | | |
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