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Love
by Anna Akhmatova
Love (1911) traces the many disguises of love β snake, dove, bright flash, weeping violin β before revealing it as something fearful and unknowable. "Yet, sure and secret, / It's far from peace and joy."
A snake, it coils
Bewitching the heart.
Day after day, coos
A dove on the white sill.
A bright flash in frost,
Drowsy night-scented stockβ¦
Yet, sure and secret,
It's far from peace and joy.
It knows how to weep sweetly
In the violin's yearning prayer;
And is fearfully divined
In a stranger's smile.
Crowd Score: 7.0
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