Deutsch and Yarmolinsky, comps. Modern Russian Poetry. 1921.
From “The Twelve”Alexander Blok (1880–1921)
9
T
Black silence broods on Neva’s brink.
No more police! We can be gay,
Comrades, without a drop to drink.
His nose tucked in his ragged fur,
Stands lost and idle on the corner,
Tagged by a cringing, mangy cur.
A silent question stands and begs;
The old world like a kinless mongrel
Stands there, its tail between its legs.