Skazhi mne, chertjozhnik pustyni

Skazhi mne, chertjozhnik pustyni,
Sypuchikh peskov geometr,
Uzheli bezuderzhnost' linij
Sil'neje, chem dujushchij vetr?
— Menja ne kasajetsja trepet
Jego iudejskikh zabot —
On opyt iz lepeta lepit
I lepet iz opyta p'jot.

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by Osip Emil'evich Mandelstam (1891-1938) , "Skazhi mne, chertjozhnik pustyni", 1933

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "Skazhi mne, chertjozhnik pustyni", op. 53 no. 4, published 1989 [soprano, flute, horn, harp, and string trio], from Vos'mistishija, no. 4.

ENG English (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov)

Date added to the website: 2008-01-22.

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Tell me, Desert Draftsman

Tell me, Desert Draftsman,
Geometer of the quicksands,
Is it true, that unrestrained lines
Are more powerful than the blowing wind?
-- I don't care about the trembling
Of his Judaic troubles. --
He shapes experience from babble,
And drinks babble from the experience.

by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "Tell me, Desert Draftsman", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

a text in Russian by Osip Emil'evich Mandelstam (1891-1938) , "Skazhi mne, chertjozhnik pustyni", 1933

Date added to the website: 2008-01-22.