| Deutsch and Yarmolinsky, comps. Modern Russian Poetry. 1921. | | | | The Fierce Birds | | By Valery Brusov (b. 1873) |
| | | KINDLING the air, fierce birds with feathers of fire, | |
| Through the white portals of Paradise flamed like desire. | |
| Virgin vistas reared, lit with quivering red, | |
| And beyond seas were the trackless wanderers fled. | |
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| But on the pillars of marble, on the threshold were thrown | 5 |
| Crimson shadows incredible, sunk in the stone. | |
| And, under the arch, in eternity’s radiance hidden, | |
| Angels exulted in fruits that are secret and sweet and forbidden. | | | | |
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