'Everything's looted, betrayed and traded,'

by Anna Akhmatova

　　Black death's wing's overhead.

　　Everything's eaten by hunger, un-sated,

　　So why does a light shine ahead?

　　By day, a mysterious wood, near the town,

　　Breathes out cherry, a cherry perfume.

　　By night, on July's sky, deep, and transparent,

　　New constellations are thrown.

　　And something miraculous will come

　　Close to the darkness and ruin,

　　Something no-one, no-one, has known,

　　Though we've longed for it since we were children.