The Return of Persephone

Gliding through the still air, he made no sound;

Wing-shod and deft, dropped almost at her feet,

And searched the ghostly regiments and found

The living eyes, the tremor of breath, the beat

Of blood in all that bodiless underground.

She left her majesty; she loosed the zone

Of darkness and put by the rod of dread.

Standing, she turned her back upon the throne

Where, well she knew, the Ruler of the Dead,

Lord of her body and being, sat like stone;

Stared with his ravenous eyes to see her shake

The midnight drifting from her loosened hair,

The girl once more in all her actions wake,

The blush of colour in her cheeks appear

Lost with her flowers that day beside the lake.

The summer flowers scattering, the shout,

The black manes plunging down to the black pit —

Memory or dream? She stood awhile in doubt,

Then touched the Traveller God’s brown arm and met

His cool, bright glance and heard his words ring out:

“Queen of the Dead and Mistress of the Year!”

— His voice was the ripe ripple of the corn;

The touch of dew, the rush of morning air —

“Remember now the world where you were born;

The month of your return at last is here.”

And still she did not speak, but turned again

Looking for answer, for anger, for command:

The eyes of Dis were shut upon their pain;

Calm as his marble brow, the marble hand

Slept on his knee. Insuperable disdain

Foreknowing all bounds of passion, of power, of art,

Mastered but could not mask his deep despair.

Even as she turned with Hermes to depart,

Looking her last on her grim ravisher

For the first time she loved him from her heart.

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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 

• Владимир Маяковский – Песня-молния by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Первый вывоз by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Первый из пяти by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Первомайское поздравление by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Переворот в Германии (Роста №42) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Перекопский энтузиазм by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Пахали сохой — запашем трактором (Главполитпросвет №42) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Октябрьский марш by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Октябрьские частушки by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Октябрь 1917–1926 by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Офицер! Смотри на эту саблю (РОСТА) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Ода революции by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Общее руководство для начинающих подхалим by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Обряды кому и на кой ляд целовальный обряд by Владимир Маяковский
• Облако в штанах – Владимир Маяковский: читать поэму онлайн, текст стихотворения полностью – Стихи Poetry Monster by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – О том, как у Керзона с обедом разрасталась аппетитов зона by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – О том, как некие сектантцы зовут рабочего на танцы by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – О патриархе Тихоне by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – О дряни by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – О чем в наступающем думаем году мы by Владимир Маяковский

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Doska or the Board – write anything

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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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