I go out on the road alone

Alone I set out on the road; The flinty path is sparkling in the mist; The night is still. The desert harks to God, And star with star converses.

The vault is overwhelmed with solemn wonder The earth in cobalt aura sleeps. . . Why do I feel so pained and troubled? What do I harbor: hope, regrets?

I see no hope in years to come, Have no regrets for things gone by. All that I seek is peace and freedom! To lose myself and sleep!

But not the frozen slumber of the grave… I'd like eternal sleep to leave My life force dozing in my breast Gently with my breath to rise and fall;

By night and day, my hearing would be soothed By voices sweet, singing to me of love. And over me, forever green, A dark oak tree would bend and rustle.

- Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (1814-1841)