Pushkin, Alexander "Caucasian Captive"

Dedication to N. N. Raevskii--missing from the text on RES
(line-by-line tr. by Gitta Hammarberg with no attempt at preserving poetic qualities)

Take with a smile, my friend
The offerings of a free muse:
To you I've dedicated the song of the exiled lyre
And my inspired leisure.
When I perished, innocent, unconsoled,
And when I heard the whisper of slander from all sides
When the dagger of cold deceit
When the heavy dream of love
Tortured me and deadened me
I still found peace near you;
My heart was at peace--we loved each other:
And the storms over me spent their ferocity
In a peaceful haven I blessed the gods.
In days of sad separation
My contemplative sounds
Reminded me of the Caucasus
Where the overcast Beshtu, the grandiose loner,
The five-headed ruler of auls and fields,
Was for me a new Parnassus.
Can I forget his siliceous peaks,
The thundering springs, the faded plains,
The hot deserts, the lands, where you with me
Shared the impressions of a young soul;
Where in the mountains martial robbery occurs
And the savage genius of inspiration
Is hiding in the mute silence?
Perhaps days, dear to my heart,
Passion's contradictions
Familiar dreams, familiar sufferings,
And the secret voice of my soul.
In life we went apart: in the embraces of peace
Barely, barely blossomed the traces of your father-hero
On bloody fields, under clouds of enemy fire,
Elect youngster, you proudly flew forth
The fatherland caressed you with kindness
As a dear victim, as the true light of hope
I soon knew sorrow, was reached by persecution;
Became a victim of slander and vindictive ignoramuses;
But steeling my heart with with freedom and patience
I carelessly awaited better days
And the happiness of my friends
Was to me a sweet consolation.