The demon in me

The demon in me 
Is not dead but lives! 
In self like in a jail 
In body like in a bilge.  

The world - is walls, 
The exit - the axe. 
("The world is a stage," 
The actor speaks).  

He did not deceive, 
The lump-legged ogre. 
In body - like in glory. 
In body - like in a toga.  

Many a year! 
Rejoice in your life! 
(Only the poets are 
In a bone - like in a lie!)  

We won't party, 
Singing brothers, 
In body like in a cotton 
Gown of a father.  

We're worth the best. 
In heat we wilt. 
In body - like in a stall.  
In self - like in a pot.  

Mortal magnificence 
We do not hold. 
In body - like in a morass, 
In body - like in a vault, 

In body - like in extreme 
Exile. - Wilt! 
In body - like in a secret, 
In temples - like in a grip  
Of an iron mask.  

By Marina Tsvetayeva
Translated from Russian by Ilya Shambat