Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DEMON, by ALEXANDER (ALEKSANDR) ALEXANDROVICH BLOK



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DEMON, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Behind me you must go, behind me
Last Line: Into the glittering void of night.


BEHIND me you must go, behind me,
My slave obedient and true;
The sparkling mountain-ridges find me
In flight unfaltering with you.

Above abysses I shall take you,
Bottomless pits of mystery;
And there, while futile terrors shake you,
Is inspiration's strength for me.

Amid the ether's flaming shower
I do not let you swoon, but show
My shadowy wings and sinewy power
To lift you and not let you go.

Upon the hills in white resplendence,
Upon the unstained meadow-ground,
In beautiful divine attendance
My fire shall strangely burn around.

Know you how frail is that delusion
By which mankind is tricked, how small
Is the poor pitiful confusion
That by wild passion's name we call?

When shadows gather in the even
And my enchantment seizes you,
You wish to fly aloft to heaven
Through fiery deserts of the blue.
I gather you in my embraces
And raise you up with me afar
To where a star is like earth's places
And earth's not different from a star.

Then stricken dumb with admiration,
New universes you can see,
Sights unbelievable, creation
Made by my playful fantasy.

In fear and strengthlessness you shiver;
I hear you whisper: "Let me go!"
You from my soft wings I deliver
And smile upon you, "Fly below!"

Beneath my smile divinely winning,
In an annihilating flight,
Like a cold stone, you flutter, spinning
Into the glittering void of night.





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