Why is the soul so lyrical

Why is the soul so lyrical  
And so few are the names I love  
And the ready rhythm but a miracle  
Like Aquillon from above?   

He will raise clouds of dust in a hurry  
He will leaf through the paper stack  
And he will not come back -- or maybe  
As another he will come back?

Winds of Orpheus are embracing -  
You will leave for the sea and sky - 
And, the world not created praising,  
I forgot the superfluous "I".    

In a make-believe grove I have wandered  
And into an azure cave delved..  
Am I really real, I ponder,  
And death will claim my true self?

By Osip Mandelshtam
Translated from Russian by Ilya Shambat