Sunday, November 16, 2008

Я вас любил (with amateur translation)

Can it really get any better than this! (The poetry, not the the situation, of course).

Я вас любил: любовь еще, быть может,
В душе моей угасла не совсем;
Но пусть она вас больше не тревожит,
Я не хочу печалить вас ничем.

Я вас любил безмолвно, безнадежно,
То робостью, то ревностью томим;
Я вас любил так искренно, так нежно,
Как дай вам бог любимой быть другим।
~ Пушкин

I loved you, and love, perhaps, still,
Hasn't faded completely from my soul;
But let it not disturb you any further.
I do not want to upset you in any way.

I loved you wordlessly, hopelessly,
By bashfulness, by jealousy, tortured;
I loved you so sincerely, so tenderly,
As, God willing, another may love you.

The Russian original is by Pushkin. Thanks to Maria Zolotova for assistance with the translation.

2 comments:

cringe-all said...

So you are good at translating after all! Please, oh pretty please translate Pushkin's "Kinzhal" for me!

Vi said...

on of my favorites =)