[45] Winter Night

Guest poem sent in by Anuraj <AnurajKE@>

It snowed and snowed, the whole world over,
Snow swept the world from end to end.
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned.

As during summer midges swarm
To beat their wings against a flame
Out in the yard the snowflakes swarmed
To beat against the window pane

The blizzard sculptured on the glass
Designs of arrows and of whorls.
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned.

Distorted shadows fell
Upon the lighted ceiling:
Shadows of crossed arms,of crossed legs-
Of crossed destiny.

Two tiny shoes fell to the floor
And thudded.
A candle on a nightstand shed wax tears
Upon a dress.

All things vanished within
The snowy murk-white,hoary.
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned.

A corner draft fluttered the flame
And the white fever of temptation
Upswept its angel wings that cast
A cruciform shadow

It snowed hard throughout the month
Of February, and almost constantly
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned.

     -- Boris Pasternak

     (Excerpt from Dr.Zhivago)
     (Translated into english by Bernard Guilbert Guerney)

    The whole world knows Pasternak as a great novelist,but he is one of
the greatest poets of our century as well.His poems have been widely
acclaimed.He belonged to the league of poets which include Anna
Akhmatova,Joseph Brodsky and the likes.The poets of faith,suffering and
human emotions.


   When I first read Dr.Zhivago,I was fascinated by its richness of
poetry. But most of all I liked the poems written by the hero Dr.Yuri
Zhivago, a poet and physician caught in the midst of Russian
revolution.These are given as an appendix to the novel.

   This particular poem is my favourite among the lot.It can stand by
itself.But related to the context it has more subtle dimensions.The poem
is based on a simple incident.The hero still doesen't know the heroine
Lara, but on his way home on a cold February night, Yura notices a
candle burning through a street window(In that room Lara is taking the
decision of her life).He just writes a poem on it.Little does he know
that the happenings in
that room is shaping up his destiny.


This is how Pasternak describes the incident:

"As they drove through Kamerger street Yura noticed that a candle had
melted a patch in the icy crust on one of the windows.The light seemed
to look into the street almost consciously , as if it were watching the
passing carriages and waiting for someone.

 'A candle burned on the table,a candle burned...' he whispered to
himself-the beginning of something confused,formless;he hoped that it
would take shape of itself.But nothing more came to him."

   The poem is remarkable for its simplicity,the richness of imagery and
the evocative tone.But in a more subtle way it reflects the poet's
compassion,his astounding faith and the suffering he went through.


                                                       -Anuraj

From: Anustup Datta <Anustup.DATTA@>

Thanks a lot to Anuraj for sending this poem. As he said, it is deeply
lyrical and wonderfully evocative. I myself was thinking of this scene in
the film - the warm glow of the candle through a window,  and without, the
snowflakes swirling around Omar Sharif in his Astrakh an collar. Great
novel, great film. 

Re Pasternak's poetry, there is some history behind this which helps us
understand his life and times. Though he was a great poet and novelist, he
wasn't allowed to write by his Soviet masters - and he was so disillusioned
that he turned to translating Goethe and Shakespeare. 'Dr. Zhivago' couldn't
be published from the Soviet Union - it was published in Italy - and when he
got the Nobel Prize, he  was forced to refuse it by the Soviets. Only late
in life was a volume of his poetry allowed in Russia. No wonder his
protagonist was "a poet who dares to have a private life".

Regards,
Anustup