Sunday, March 6, 2022

Lost in Translation

Ты и Вы

Пустое в ы сердечным т ы
Она, обмолвясь, заменила,
И все счастливые мечты
В душе влюбленной возбудила.
Пред ней задумчиво стою;
Свести очей с нее нет силы;
И говорю ей: как в ы милы!
И мыслю: как т е б я люблю!


You and Thou

A casual slip — and she replaced
The vacant “you” with “thou” endearing,
Thus all glad dreams that I had chased
To hopes of love quite firmly steering.
In front of her I cannot budge;
I feast my eyes till I am giddy,
And then I tell her: you’re so pretty —
But think indeed: love thee so much!

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin
English translation by Yuri Menis

Hans Bellmer, Untitled (Double-Sided Portrait of Unica Zürn) (verso), 1954. Courtesy of WikiArt.

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