After a poem by Natalia Evteeva
Once again I enter the enchanted forest
And gaze toward the passage by the ravine.
I shall never return; those who remain here
Have no need of anything earthly.
This time it is for real; I shall stay forever,
Falling as golden leaves
From snow-white birches, never to return;
As emerald-green moss
I shall shine at the edge, where the grasses
Grow fresh and tall and merge into the bog,
And I shall lie as a deep boundary furrow –
A distant passage for others.
Do not walk along the ravine, do not dare, do not look –
The enchanted forest will never let you go.
With its protected clearing it will pierce your heart
And skillfully whisper promises of happiness.
No, I cannot be saved, taken back, or kept safe.
I step across the boundary of the passage,
To fall as deadwood, having lived out my century,
And sink into the waters of the bog.
Or rise as the white mist of cold nights,
Soaring upward until I reach the heavens …
Do not look toward the passage by the ravine, do not dare!
Do not enter the enchanted forest.
German and English translations created with the assistance of artificial intelligence at the initiative of Helena Hochnadel.