They locked the soul up in a cage

And ordered it to celebrate,

There’s no reason, it was told,

At all to feel despondent.

But cage they put her in was small

The soul didn’t fit in it at all,

In cramped up space the soul would howl

And mourn the loss of freedom.

At break of dawn it craved the sky

In dreams it found ways to fly

And to dissolve without a trace

In boundless freedom’s outer space

Implored the rain on gloomy days

To wash away its grief and pain

That weighed it down, there to stay,

Impossible to bear

But mighty rain, by grace of God,

Which could create a frightful flood

Was powerless to wash away

The sadness of the soul.

The ruthless gusts of autumn wind,

Please pick me up and help me spring

From sorrowful confinement.

Just pick me up, along with leaves

And carry me away from here

Away from hated prison bars,

To land of liberty.

The wind did not respond and rushed away,

Embracing sorry leaves who knew a better day.

The autumn rain resumed its chilling fall,

Upon the soul which shivered in its cage

As if the soul had not been chilled enough

By choking unfreedom bars.

The yellow leaves departing into limbo,

Detaching from the branch – a grim reminder

Of earthly creatures’ imminent demise.

Almighty Sun, the ruler of the planets,

Supreme of all, you have the gift of vision,

Pray, tell me when confinement ends?

The sun felt sorry for the grieving soul,

Its rays can’t breach the dark confines of cage,

Thick metal bars conceal the soul from light.

Yet, noble sun could not withhold the answer and spoke like this:

“Behind the clouds lies a sacred Kingdom

Of life eternal, reigned by God Almighty

On gilded throne: he alone knows

The reason of your sad incarceration.

When you ascend to Him to pledge allegiance,

And dwell forever in divine abode,

You will enjoy full measure of the freedom.”

I see no joy in your prophetic answer,

The soul lamented, I desire freedom

On Earth, not in some distant Heaven.

I was depraved of it, confined to cage

By cruel fate for so many years!

This said, the soul returned to its confinement

And through bars addressed the Moon in Heaven:

“Must I depart the Earth, in cage remaining?

Why dream of Heaven to acquire freedom,

If it’s the Earth I love?!

Why does Almighty want me in a cage

When in my dreams I roam the ocean beaches

Relentlessly awaiting other soul?

The one that haunts my dreams, to me it lost its way

And wanders in the fog, bemoaning its loss.”

The yellow leaves keep falling ever faster,

And spring reminds less of the time

When soul was all afire, anticipating

Arrival of the other soul.

The soul in cage - the source of pride and joy

And often treated like a toy,

Its wailing for the freedom lost

Unheard, ignored by the most.

By Liana Margiva

Translated from Russian by Anatol Kardiukov