I don't know if you're alive or dead.
Can you on earth be sought,
Or only when the sunsets fade
Be mourned serenely in my thought?
All is for you: the daily prayer,
The sleepless heat at night,
And of my verses, the white
Flock, and of my eyes, the blue fire.
No-one was more cherished, no-one tortured
Me more, not
Even the one who betrayed me to torture,
Not even the one who caressed me and forgot.
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Torture was a reality in her life, remember her time and place. The last line may refer to her husband and her son's father, Gumilyov, but I am uncertain whom she mourns.
Unresolved grief is a huge emotional problem. Alive or dead, people we love are important, but there is certainty about them. Missing people are a constant pain, as she describes in the last stanza.
This is wonderful self-examination, and a light for people who grieve similar losses. -
Abdsolutely gorgeous. I LOVE her poetry, and even though I don't think the front page makes this clear- but she is a lyrical poet(the most famous of Russia), and it is because she writes directly from her own personal experience and emotions that makes her poetry so rich, and so powerful. I really enjoy her writings, and I believe she would fit right in here at AP with the many poets who write from the very same place. I will make this poet known around allpoetry- because I really believe most people would be able to resonate with her poetry. Glad she is part of the collection here.
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The last line of this poem wraps me in sadness. There is something about forgotten caresses that brings me a little undone. But not one of those forgotten moments hurt more than the love she had lost.
Indeed, a "dark lonesomeness" is apt for describing this piece. -
I saw a dark lonesomeness in this. I was touched by how the person couldn’t find its love. He escaped her some kind of way, and it shattered her. She didn’t know if he lived or died. In my opinion, I think he died. He wouldn’t leave the love of his life without an answer. It tortured her without knowing where her love is. It probably distraught her.. She may of thought of suicide next or something to reunite her with him. I know *this is my opinion* in hearts of hearts knew that she knew he died. I wonder if anybody thought of writing a response to this. Answering her this question, rather he lived or died This touch home so much in me. I think that I am going to see if anymore of her work is kind of like this. Because with the short lines Anna used, it makes a delicious poem. I quite enjoyed this.
-Tainted Princess
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