Top 12 Beautiful Poems by Russian Poet Pushkin

I Remember the Sea Before the Storm

"Я помню море пред грозою"

I remember the sea before the storm:
How I envied the waves,
Rolling fiercely one after another,
Falling in love to lay at her feet!
How I longed then, with the waves,
To kiss her tender feet with my lips!
No, never during those fiery days
Of my boiling youth
Did I wish with such torment
To kiss the lips of young Armida,
Or the rosy cheeks of fiery youth,
Or the breasts full of longing;
No, never did a passion so burn
My soul with such anguish!

I remember the sea before the storm:
Translation by Cẩm Hà

I remember the sea before the storm:
I envied every surging wave,
The waves rolling endlessly,
Carrying love to fall at her feet!
I longed to kiss each wave's crest
Softly, with my tender lips!
No, never in the heat of youth's fervent years,
Did I ever wish with such ache
To kiss the lips of Armida in her prime,
Or the fiery cheeks of youth's sweet bloom,
Or her chest, full of desire;
No, never has my soul been so stirred
By such overwhelming yearning!

The Sea
Pushkin

I’ve never been to the sea before,
I thought it was a silent blue,
I’ve never loved before,
I thought love was just a dream.

But now I’ve seen the sea,
It’s full of roaring waves and fierce winds.
And now I’ve loved,
Love is full of pain and bitterness.

Without fierce winds, without crashing waves, it’s not the sea,
And without sorrow and bitterness, it’s not love...

You Told Me to Go...
Pushkin

You said, "Go away now."
Why didn’t I stay?
You said, "Don’t wait for me."
Why did I hurry to leave?

Your words drifted like the breeze,
Your eyes, dark and filled with tears.
But why was I so foolish
Not to look into your eyes?

Why was I so foolish
Not to look into your eyes?
Not to gaze into eyes full of sorrow,
Not to see eyes so deep?

The sad times are gone,
Don’t bring them up again.
I am foolish, clumsy,
You dream of impossible things.

Life is cruel—it doesn’t allow
Our dreams to be fulfilled.
Then, I will send my love through the waves,
To carry it to the end of the river.

Then, I will send my love through the waves,
To carry it to the end of the river,
To bring my love to my dreams,
To take it to the land of nothingness.

By Chance
Pushkin

By chance, I met you,
And by chance, I fell in love with you.
Life is cruel and heartless,
So we ended up together.

By chance, I said a word,
And you became upset.
By chance, I said nothing,
And that’s why we drifted apart.

No one understands why,
The road of life split in two.
No one is to blame,
It was just by chance.

By chance, throughout my life,
I have wandered in pain.
By chance, you don’t know,
Or by chance, you’ve forgotten?

I’ve wandered in pain,
Never able to forget!

It was just by chance,
No one is to blame;

The road of life split in two,
No one understands why.

By chance, I said nothing,
By chance, I said a word,

And you grew upset,
And so we were separated.

If only we had loved each other,
Life would not have been so cruel,

And if the heavens cared for us,
Perhaps we would meet again.

Awakening
Pushkin

Dreams, sweet dreams,
So dear to you.
Where are you, where are you?
The joy of the dark night?
Why did you leave so soon?
Oh, magical dream?
Leaving me behind
In the stillness of the night.

Lonely, I wake up,
The bed cold around me,
The silence of the night
Suddenly chills me,
And in an instant, it’s gone—
All the dreams of love!
But my soul is full
Of hopes still fresh and alive.

Dew and Sunshine
Pushkin

Just as the sea needs the waves, so do I need you.
Can any sea be still, my love?
I love you because you are the sun,
And just as dew cannot sparkle without sunlight, so I am nothing without you.

I am the dew, and I can only dissolve in the light of the sun.
Even without a form, the sun leaves its trace in the dew.
You are the sun when the day breaks,
Carrying the fire of the sky in the first light.
I am the dew, holding all the memories,
To dissolve into dreams that stretch endlessly.
But I still long to be that drop of dew forever,
Reflecting the sun, never fading.
Even when storms rage, the sun remains unchanged.
And when the sun rises again, I will be the dew once more.
The universe shifts in ways we cannot predict,
But the mornings remain the same, ever-present.
The rays of the sun continue to shine,
Like night and day in an eternal cycle.
Oh, sun! Your light is magical.
Full of early dew with a pure soul,
Ever returning, year after year,
Shining like the first light of creation.

I am the dew, dissolving in the sun's warmth.
The sun is boundless, but it stays in the dew.
From vastness, a single ray shines,
And when it meets the dew, it sparkles brightly.
If the sun makes the dew warmer,
The dew makes the sun shine brighter.
How lovely is the small, gentle dew,
Clear and pure, filled with yearning.
You are the sun, eternal in love,
Bringing the fire of distant ages
And leaving it in my small dewdrop.

Longing
Pushkin

It's strange! I can't understand why
When I stand before you, I feel so cold and distant.
But once I leave, all that's left is me, standing with my own shadow,
And I softly whisper to myself: How I miss you!

They say that missing someone means you love them,
But I still don’t understand.
Love, to me, is so mysterious,
It’s only when we’re apart that I realize how much I care!

Who knows when love begins?
Who can tell when it ends?
Time passes, and the earth keeps spinning,
Love comes, love goes…
But who truly understands?

I Loved You (Я вас любил)

Я вас любил

I loved you: the love still lingers, perhaps,
In my soul, it hasn’t completely faded;
But let it no longer trouble you;
I do not wish to bring you any sorrow.

I loved you silently, hopelessly,
Tormented by both shyness and jealousy;
I loved you so sincerely, so tenderly,
May God grant that you be loved as deeply by another.

Translation

I have loved you: the love might still be, perhaps,
In my heart (it hasn’t fully extinguished);
But now, let it trouble you no more.
I do not want to burden you with any sorrow.

I loved you quietly, without hope,
Tormented at times by timidity, at times by jealousy.
I loved you so truly, so gently,
May you be blessed with a love as sincere as mine.

To... (К***

К***

I remember that wondrous moment:
Before me, you appeared,
Like a fleeting vision,
Like the genius of pure beauty.

In the depths of hopeless sadness,
In the chaos of noisy worries,
The soft voice echoed for me long
And your dear features appeared in my dreams.

Years passed. The stormy winds of rebellion
Scattered the old dreams,
And I forgot your sweet voice,
And your heavenly features.

In the silence, in the darkness of imprisonment,
My days quietly stretched on,
Without divinity, without inspiration,
Without tears, without life, without love.

Then, the soul awakened:
And once again, you appeared,
Like a fleeting vision,
Like the genius of pure beauty.

And my heart beats with joy,
For it has been revived again
With divinity, with inspiration,
With life, with tears, and with love.

To... - Pushkin
Translation by Thuy Toan

I still remember that magical moment:
Before me, you suddenly appeared,
Like a fragile illusion that vanished,
Like an angel of pure beauty.

Amidst the anguish and despair,
In the tumult of anxiety and sorrow,
Your voice echoed in my ears,
Your image I met again in my dreams.

Years passed, and the winds of dust
Scattered the beautiful childhood dreams,
Forgetting your gentle voice,
The majestic image of you faded.

In solitude and darkness of captivity,
The flow of life dragged on miserably,
Without divine presence, without inspiration,
Without life, without tears, without love.

But my soul suddenly awoke:
Before me, you appeared again,
Like a fleeting vision,
Like an angel of pure beauty.

My heart once more stirs with excitement,
For it has come alive with all things:
Divinity, inspiration,
Life, tears, and love.

This poem was given by Pushkin to Kerens, a female poet he met in St. Petersburg in 1819. In 1825, when Kerens visited her home in Trigozki, where Pushkin had often stayed during his exile in Mikhailopkie, the two met again... Before she left, Pushkin gave her this poem as a memento.

The Winter Road (Зимняя дорога)

Through the wavering mists,
The moon slowly rises,
Its sorrowful light spills
Across the bleak fields.

On the dull winter road,
The swift troika dashes ahead,
The monotonous bell
Rings with tiring echoes.

Something familiar is heard
In the long songs of the coachman:
At times, the joy of revelry,
At others, the ache of heartfelt sorrow...

There is no fire, no black hut...
Just the silence and snow... Against me
Only the striped milestones
Keep appearing one by one.

Boredom, sadness... Tomorrow, Nina,
Tomorrow, returning to my dear one,
I will be lost beside the hearth,
Staring at you endlessly.

The clock’s hands tick away,
Its circle turning steadily,
And, pushing away the dull ones,
Midnight will not part us.

Sad, Nina: my road is dreary,
The coachman dozes off,
The bell rings monotonously,
The moon’s face is veiled in mist.

The Winter Road
Poem translated by Thuy Toan

Through the waves of mist,
The pale moonlight shines through,
Its sad light spreads wide
Over the distant, desolate field.

On the lonely winter road,
The troika speeds on,
The horse’s rhythm monotonous,
Echoing with homesick sorrow.

The coachman’s song
Whispers something dear to me:
Sometimes joy uncontained,
Sometimes the heavy burden of sorrow.

No fire, no hut...
Only the snow and vast woods...
The endless posts of milestones
Greet me as I pass by.

Oh, how lonely... Tomorrow, Nina,
Tomorrow, I’ll return to you,
Beside the glowing fire,
Gazing at you without end.

The clock ticks steadily,
Its circle spinning in rhythm,
And the tiresome crowd is pushed away,
While midnight binds us together.

So sad, Nina: the road is empty,
The coachman slumbers peacefully,
The bell rings monotonously,
The moon’s face shrouded in mist.