IN PRISON
P. POLIVANOV
[Polivanov was a revolutionist who tried to rescue some of his friends from prison. He was caught, and was imprisoned for twenty years in the fortress of Schlusselbourg. At the end of his term he was released, with shattered nerves, and soon after committed suicide.]
I long for liberty, I long for light;
I want to draw a full breath, deep and clear;
I want—Well, brother, now the song is sung.
For years, for ages, you are buried here.
By the damp cell’s cold wall, the iron bar
Across the heavy doors that will not move,
You are cut off from all the living world
Forever, from life’s joys, from those you love.
Take leave forevermore, then, of your dreams,
Your native steppes, and meads, and forests free,
And of the hope with which you used to live,
And the ideal you served so faithfully.
Take leave of all, then, and submit yourself;
Bow to your helpless and depressing fate.
What use to dream of freedom, pine for it,
For life, work, strife, outside the prison gate?
Let fear nor hope nor joy nor sorrow come
Unto your broken heart a throb to lend.
Life’s ocean you will never see again;
Your own life’s journey, too, will shortly end.
In Death’s embrace your respite you will find
From grief and suffering; in oblivion’s sea
You will receive your guerdon—the repose
You have desired so long and ardently.