More tender than tender

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More tender than tender…
by Osip Mandelstam, translated by Dmitri Smirnov
From "Stone".



 * * *

More tender than tender
Is your face,
Whiter than white
Is your hand,
From the whole world
You are distant,
And everything in you
Is from the inevitable.

From the inevitable
Is your sorrow,
And the fingers of your hand
Which stay warm,
And the quiet sound
Of your cheerful
Speeches,
And the distant look
Of your eyes.

1909

This translation is hosted with different licensing information than from the original text. The translation status applies to this edition.
Original:
PD-icon.svg This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1923.

The author died in 1938, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Translation:
Heckert GNU white.svg This work is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.