Mikhail Iurevich Lermontov 

Translated by Alyssa Gillespie in 2010

from “The Demon (An Eastern Tale)” Part 1 

III.

And heaven’s outcast soared on past

The Caucasus’ majestic heights:

Beneath him like a diamond facet

Gleamed Mount Kazbek’s eternal ice.

And far below, a blackened furrow,

A fissure like a serpent’s burrow,

The twisting Darial Gorge entwined

The depths, and River Terek, leaping,

Fierce, lioness-like, with tangled mane,

Roared loudly! Beasts and birds that steeply

Flew circles in the azure plain

All harkened to her watery vowels;

And lustrous golden clouds propelled

From southern lands, from distant realms

Accompanied her northbound travels;​

And cliffs that thronged the river’s banks,

Suffused with a mysterious drowse,

Inclined above her, foreheads bowed,

Kept watch upon her flashing waves;

And on the cliff tops castle turrets

Peered threateningly through the fog –

The vast Caucasian Gates are girded;

Those giants stand on sentry guard!

And wild and wondrous all around

Was God’s world; but the angel proud

Surveyed with loathing God’s creation

And on his blank and towering brow

No thought was written, no elation,

No mark of caring could be found.