Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), Russia's greatest poet, wrote this poem when he was 15 while he was at the lyceum in Tsarkoe Selo. He linked it to Clement Marot (1496-1544), a French poet known for his light and graceful lyrics. Pushkin had an unhappy love life and died from wounds received in a duel over his wife's infidelity.
I am no more the ardent lover
Who caused the world such vast amaze:
My spring is past, my summer over,
And dead the fires of other days.
Oh, Eros, god of youth! Your servant
Was loyal—that you will avow.
Could I be born again this moment,
Ah, with what zest I'd serve you know!
Footnotes
(Translated by Babette Deutsch)
The Poems, Prose and Plays of Alexander Pushkin, edited by Avrahm Yarmolinsky. New York: The Modern Library, Randon House, 1964.
Submitted by Fred Charatan, retired geriatric physician, Florida