On starless night, surrounded by the dark

A lonely girl sat quietly in the yard.

She didn’t need the stars to light the murk,

The biggest star kept deep inside her heart.

She knew: in vain she waited through the years

And shed for naught her endless, bitter tears.

In Summer’s heat or Winter’s frigid howl

He will not come to call on her at all.

Until, from deepest depth of wishful dream,

She’d call for him and let her soul scream

Then, in a sequel to her own delusion,

He’d love her just as much as she did in conclusion.

In dark of night, when wind enjoyed repose,

A simple truth distinctly was exposed:

What tangible appears in a dream,

The waking mind destroys as wishful scheme.

In dreams her loved one lingered by her side,

Oblivious to the pitch dark of the night,

He loved her not a jota less than one

He cherished in the brightly shining sun.

Then, as the dawn destroyed the night’s dark spell,

The pleasant dreams bid hasty farewell .

The sun exposed twisted bluff of mind

And heart did put the fantasy behind.

The birds awakened, tweeted doleful love

To leafy branches swaying up above.

The wind was weeping over love’s sad lot

That everyone discarded and forgot.

She waited for the night to hide

Her hopeless love away from sight.

Rejected harshly by her flame ,

She vowed not to love again.

In dark of night, with stars from heavens barred,

A lonely girl sat quietly in the yard.

Afflicted by the solitude and love

She slowly passed into celestial groves.

The heart she craved remained forever numb

To her bemoaning it would not succumb.

Her heartache was ordeal with no end,

A broken heart is very hard to mend.

Do you recall this girl, celestial sphere?

She shared her sleepless nights with you, my dear.

Because he never loved her, crystal clear.

Eternity has passed since days of yore,

The youth became a part of ancient lore,

Yet heart still aches and hopes to die

For dream of love beneath dark sky.

By Liana Margiva

Translated from Russian by Anatol Kardiukov