‘You’re Ringed By Fire…’ by Afanasy Fet

You're ringed by fire. Its flashes
delight me too. I am not frightened,
beneath your tender eye-lashes,
of summer lightning.
 
But I am frightened of high places
where I cannot keep my footing.
How can I hold close what your soul
imparts to me of its beauty?
 
I fear a look without kindness
may fall on my dulled image -
and I shall be left standing
extinguished and singed.


by Афанасий Афанасьевич Фет (Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet)
a.k.a. Шеншин (Shenshin)
(1886)
translated by Robert Chandler 

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