'He loved three things, alive:'
by Anna Akhmatova
He Loved Three Things, Alive (1911) is a miniature masterpiece of seven lines that reveals a marriage through a catalogue of preferences, ending with one of the most devastating closing lines in Russian poetry. "...And he had married me."
He loved three things, alive:
White peacocks, songs at eve,
And antique maps of America.
Hated when children cried,
And raspberry jam with tea,
And feminine hysteria.
…And he had married me.
'He loved three things, alive:'
was featured as
The Short Story of the Day
on Sat, Nov 08, 2025
This poem is featured in our selection of 100 Great Poems and guide to Russian Writers.