The Virgin Martyr

Every wild she-bird has nest and mate in the warm April weather,

But a captive woman, made for love – no mate, no nest has she.

In the spring of young desire, young men and maids are wed together,

And the happy mothers flaunt their bliss for all the world to see:

Nature’s sacramental feast for these – an empty board for me.

I, a young maid once, an old maid now, deposed, despised, forgotten –

I, like them have thrilled with passion and have dreamed of nuptial rest,

Of the trembling life within me of my children unbegotten,

Of a breathing new-born body to my yearning bosom prest,

Of the rapture of a little soft mouth drinking at my breast.

Time, that heals so many sorrows, keeps mine ever freshly aching;

Though my face is growing furrowed and my brown hair turning white,

Still I mourn my irremediable loss, asleep or waking –

Still I hear my son’s voice calling “mother” in the dead of night,

And am haunted by my girl’s eyes that will never see the light.

O my children that I might have had! my children, lost for ever!

O the goodly years that might have been – now desolate and bare!

O malignant God or Fate, what have I done that I should never

Take my birthright like the others, take the crown that women wear,

And possess the common heritage to which all flesh is heir?

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External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

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Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Гавриил Державин – Философы, пьяный и трезвый by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Амур и Психея by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Жуковскому и Родзянке, приславшим с большими похвалами автору перевод его оды «Бог» на французском языке by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Желание в горняя by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Жан Расин. Рассказ Терамена by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Задумчивость by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Храповицкому (Храповицкий! дружбы знаки) by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Похвала за правосудие by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Похвала комару by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Послание Мурзы Багрима к царевне Доброславе by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Поминки by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Покаяние by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Подражание псалму (Терпел я, уповал на Бога) by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Песенка by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Пчелка by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Охотник by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Осень by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Оковы by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – О удовольствии by Гавриил Державин
• Гавриил Державин – Надежда на бога by Гавриил Державин

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

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