Full Text
I
In the silent countryside, amid the plains,Far from the noisy dramas of life,
Lived a somber, gloomy man,
Andrey, forgotten by eternal sleep.
The old estate on the hill
Overlooked the dismal town below,
And there, among books and tables,
His soul slowly withered and waned.
He was young, but in that fire
That once was warmed by youthful passion,
He saw no bright years ahead,
His fate had long begun to dim.
Their youth—Marina and he—
Long forgotten in winter's gleam,
Yet in his heart, like a daily groan,
Her shadow echoed, bleak and unredeemed.
II
Love. Like in youth, it took hold,Without resistance, like a secret delight.
The village, summer, and silence—
All turned into a gentle embrace.
Marina’s eyes, shining bright,
Gleamed like living stars above,
Their love, a spring, a storm’s delight,
In dreams of yearning, they would rove.
They met in gardens bright with oaks,
Where roses bloomed beneath the trees,
The quiet night their secret cloak,
Their hearts unbound by mysteries.
He whispered, "You are my light,
The sun of my forgotten days."
But then, it faded out of sight,
Like spring’s last snow dissolves in haze.
III
They parted in silence, as before,When words are but the essence of farewell.
She left, forever closed the door
On promises love once tried to tell.
He couldn’t forget. One day she stepped
Into the vows of another life,
He saw the circle breaking, swept
Away from dreams and into strife.
Fate, like a thread, had broken then,
But pain would stay with him for years.
Their bond the same, yet silent, when
They met again, recalling tears.
IV
Andrey left his father’s land,To wander fields and distant realms,
Seeking a place where he could stand,
Beyond the bounds of time’s constraints.
"The world is wide, yet I am small,
A grain of dust, devoid of hope."
His youth’s warmth he left withal,
To tread a darker, narrower scope.
V
He returned after years had passed,His home now echoed sorrow’s tone.
Within, no trace of what had cast
A burning spell, when love had shone.
The garden he knew, its linden trees,
Once bloomed with blossoms soft and fair,
But love’s bright fire was now at ease,
A forgotten dream in autumn’s air.
VI
Marina lived within stone walls,In shadows where joy could not dwell,
Bound by duty’s haunting calls,
She wore her silence as a shell.
Her family kept her life subdued,
She lived as a prisoner in their midst,
Her spirit broke, but still she viewed
Her life through dreams that once had kissed.
VII
And one day, fate brought them face to face,In a crowded hall, their eyes met.
Andrey’s gaze a sudden blaze,
A fire of memories long set.
She stood, silent, bound in trance,
He too could find no words to say.
They passed each other without a glance,
Like shadows fading into gray.
VIII
Andrey then, upon his path,Felt the passion deep inside rise.
Could he bring her from her wrath?
Was his heart but a fool's prize?
Yet the light in his soul still yearned,
For a spark that once was true.
Should he rekindle a fire burned,
Or let fate’s shadow be their due?
IX
Marina wrote a hidden note:"Andrey, believe I forgot not you.
The years have gone, but each moment floats,
In memory’s river, strong and true."
She couldn’t stay, their paths too crossed,
Bound to another life and fate,
Yet still her spirit, tempest-tossed,
Longed for the fire love used to create.
X
They met one night in a shaded place,Beneath the trees where linden bloomed.
Their hearts once more felt love’s embrace,
Their silent yearning filled the room.
"I cannot flee," Marina said,
"My duty binds me where I stand."
Andrey, bound by sorrow’s thread,
Felt his hope slip like grains of sand.
XI
He wandered far from love’s domain,Through valleys wide and lands unknown.
Yet every step brought him to pain,
The memories of love’s sweet tone.
Marina’s face, her whispered name,
Followed him in darkened night.
Her gentle light, her burning flame,
Forever shone beyond his sight.
XII
The years slipped by in solemn stream,Andrey's soul forever bound.
He lived a life where shadows gleamed,
And nature’s light was all around.
Yet in his heart, Marina stayed,
A shadow in his path unseen.
His love for her would never fade,
As long as life and dreams convene.
XIII
And so one day he learned her fate,How life had taken her so far,
Their love was lost, but still innate,
An endless ache, a timeless scar.
Marina lived a life constrained,
By duty’s chains, a golden cell,
Her soul as fierce as love ingrained,
That distant star he loved too well.
XIV
Marina lay upon her bed,In dim-lit halls where shadows creep,
Life’s final light around her shed,
And led her gently into sleep.
"Andrey," she whispered to the night,
"Forgive the pride that led me here.
My life was filled with hollow light,
In dreams that never were sincere."
XV
Andrey received her final note,A message from her heart so deep.
"Live, love, my memory is a coat
To warm you when the shadows creep."
He set the letter on his desk,
The pain within his soul grew clear,
For life had taken her away,
But left his heart forever near.
XVI
He left forever, fading from sight,In distant lands he found his peace,
Now nature’s honesty held him tight,
Its beauty a comforting release.
No longer bound by human needs,
His heart now free from earthly ties.
Only the forest, sky’s blue seeds,
Could soothe the pain within his eyes.
And there, like shadows of love’s past,
Marina’s face would haunt his way,
A gentle echo that would last,
As silent sorrow night and day.
He roamed beneath the forest’s shade,
Where memories grew like hidden trees,
A world of dreams that wouldn’t fade,
In solitude’s eternal peace.