A friend of mine opined all Russians were either filthy peasants or corrupt bureaucrats who haven’t contributed to society. Aside from my jaw dropping at the blatant over-generalization of a culture I couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard of the rich traditions of the Russian people: Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky…Stravinsky, Shostakovich…the list goes on. While it is true that the Russian nobility and later the government has not done justice by the people in some time–it doesn’t represent the true spirit and resilience of the People.
Learning Russian made the eventually column of the things I’d like to learn list…I’ve been reading a lot of Pushkin as of late and feel I’m missing out by not reading it in the original Russian…and considering I’m having trouble falling asleep here is something Pushkin wrote during a brief period of insomnia:
I can't sleep, the light is out;
Chasing senseless dreams in gloom.
Clocks at once, inside my room,
Somewhere next to me, resound.
Parcae's soft and mild chatter,
Sleeping twilight's noisy flutter,
Life's commotion -- so insane..
Why am I to feel this pain?
What's your meaning, boring mumble?
Disapproving, do you grumble
Of the day I spent in vain?
What has made you so compelling?
Are you calling or foretelling?
I just want to understand,
Thus I'm seeking your intent...