Elegy: A Bard Of Wine And Merriment Poem by Nikolay Mikhailovich Yazykov

A bard of wine and merriment,
I was compelled by mighty fate
To learn the lessons practical
Of moralizing Lell:
Once full of love's delirium,
I sang, awaiting her response;
My hopes were mad,
And soulless my ideal.
Alas my idol failed to heed
The yearning in my songs -
And all my speeches amorous
Upon deaf ears did fall.

But - thank the Lord! - I was endowed
With an enduring strength:
And once again I turned my mind
Upon the sublime path;
The tempest of my days died down -
And fatal passion's lunacy
Released its hold on my young soul . . .
The way a gloomy mist dissolves
Above a waking field;
The way a bird, when shots resound
Flies, startled, from the river bank.