Varvara Pavlovna [English translation]

She's pretty, but for whom?

Who smiles at her?

Who writes to her about boredom?

Pretty, under her umbrella

on Nevsky prospekt.

Who will revive her?

The river Neva

flows away,

carrying her hope,

her little silk handkerchief.

Fear makes Varvara Pavlovna cry.

She just discovered pain,

at night when she prays for him not to die.

She pictures the men, the soldiers, the emperor.

There, one June evening

There, behind the Venetian blinds

I saw Varvara's groom

walk away.

Fear makes Varvara Pavlovna cry.

This bottomless depth

is her heart.

Varvara Pavlovna will not listen to her sisters anymore.

She loves silence and modesty.

Fear makes Varvara Pavlovna cry.

She just discovered pain,

at night when she prays for him not to die.

She pictures the men, the soldiers, the emperor.