IN PRISON
P. POLIVANOV
[Polivanov was a revolutionist who tried to rescue some of his friends from prison. He was caught, and was imprisoned for twenty years in the fortress of Schlusselbourg. At the end of his term he was released, with shattered nerves, and soon after committed suicide.]
I long for liberty, I long for light;
I want to draw a full breath, deep and clear;
I want—Well, brother, now the song is sung.
For years, for ages, you are buried here.
By the damp cell’s cold wall, the iron bar
Across the heavy doors that will not move,
You are cut off from all the living world
Forever, from life’s joys, from those you love.
Take leave forevermore, then, of your dreams,
Your native steppes, and meads, and forests free,
And of the hope with which you used to live,
And the ideal you served so faithfully.
49
