THE BOOK OF POEMS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY ... - TopReferat

and the ocean holds the fish. While the historian can not see this, the madman in the next
lines (59-66) does:
И с ужасом и с тайным сладострастьем
Следит безумец, как между минувшим
И будущим, подобно ясной влаге,
Сквозь пальцы уходящей, —непрерывно
Жизнь утекает. И трепещет сердце,
Как легкий флаг на мачте корабельной,
Между воспоминаньем и надеждой—
Сей памятью о будущем…
With both horror and secret pleasure
The madman tracks how between the past
And the future, like a clear liquid
Which slips through your fingers, unceasingly
Life flows away. And your heart trembles,
Like a light flag on a ship's mast,
Between memory and hope—
That hope of the future.
Moved by the terrible, passionate power of revelation, the madman recognizes the
cyclical nature of time and life. While the image of clear liquid constantly slipping away
through fingers suggests an eventual end to life, the final two quoted lines show the
cyclical relationship of the past to the present. The madman’s heart wavers between
recollection (the past) and hope (the future). This hope is described as a memory of the
future (сей памятью о будущем). In order for the future to be remembered, it must have
happened before—it must be part of an endless cycle of life. This cycle necessarily
includes both death (the liquid of life slipping away) and rebirth (hope).
In the final stanza of "Дом" the speaker returns from these abstract ruminations to
the concrete site of the ruined house. An old woman approaches and begins to tear off
shingles and insulation. The speaker joins her:
Молча подхожу
И помогаю ей, и мы в согласьи добром
Работаем для времени.
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