The fantastic autumn...

The fantastic autumn constructed a high cupola,

And the clouds were ordered not to darken it.

And people marvelled: Septembertime is passing by,

And where are the cold, humid days?

The water in the muddy canals became emerald,

And the nettles began to smell, like roses, but stronger.

It was stifling from sunrise, unbearable, demonic, vermilion dawns,

That we would remember to the end of our days.

The sun was like a rebel entering the capital,

And the springlike autumn caressed him so greedily

That it seemed - the translucent snowdrops would blossom whitely any day...

That's when you, so quiet, approached me.

September 1922

Translated by Judith Hemschemeyer,

from the book "The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova".