| Deutsch and Yarmolinsky, comps. Modern Russian Poetry. 1921. | | | | The Amphora | | By Fyodor Sologub (Pseudonym of Fyodor Teternikov) (b. 1863) |
| | | IN a gay jar upon his shoulder | |
| The slave morosely carries wine. | |
| His road is rough with bog and boulder, | |
| And in the sky no starlights shine. | |
| Into the dark with stabbing glances | 5 |
| He peers, his careful steps are slow, | |
| Lest on his breast as he advances | |
| The staining wine should overflow. | |
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| I bear my amphora of sorrow, | |
| Long brimming with the wine it hides; | 10 |
| There poison for each waiting morrow | |
| Ferments within the painted sides. | |
| I follow secret ways and hidden | |
| To guard the evil vessel, lest | |
| A careless hand should pour unbidden | 15 |
| Its bitterness upon my breast. | | | | |
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