SONGS OF RUSSIA
That night came down from heaven’s blue height, pensive and lingering;
Came with the shy and coy caress of silver-shining May,
Came with the salutation of the mournful Northern Spring.
We opened all the windows wide; and, with the sound of wheels
Upon the echoing pavement, the night, with shadows murk,
Came to us, and was welcomed with heartiness and joy
Unto our modest festival, our cosy nook of work.
And even as it entered, and as throughout the room
Spread soft the fragrant perfume of blooming lilac sprays,
Silently following it, a band of mournful shadows came—
A throng of sounds that whispered from the depths of long-past days.
Those who had sought the capital from districts far away
Thought of their homes—the village poor, the church, the fields beyond;
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