[I seek for rhythmic whisperings]

by Zinaida Gippius (1895-1945)

I seek for rhythmic whisperingsWhere noises bandy—For life I listen wistfullyIn footless banter.

I cast wide nets and tentativeIn lakes of sorrow.I go toward final tendernessBy pathways sordid.

I look for dewdrops glisteringIn falsehood’s gardens.I save truth’s globules glistening,From dust-heaps garnered.

I fain would fathom fortitudeThrough years of wormwood—And pierce the mortal fortalice,Yet live, a worldling.

My cup, through ways impassable,To bear, untainted;By tenebrous bleak passagesTo joy attaining.