You Will Hear Thunder
Anna Akhmatova, 1889-1966, Russian
You will hear thunder and remember me,
And think: she wanted storms. The rim
Of the sky will be the colour of hard crimson,
And your heart, as it was then, will be on fire.
That day in Moscow, it will all come true,
when, for the last time, I take my leave,
And hasten to the heights that I have longed for,
Leaving my shadow still to be with you.
Flame azalea on the grounds of Winterthur, Delaware, legacy of Henry Francis du Pont, 1880-1969, American
Such passionate words even as she leaves her lover. Thank you, Sarah.
Two of my neighbours, both 39 and both married to men born in the US told me recently how lucky they feel to be both free and loved well.
I was married to countrymen of mine and they had no knowledge of this freedom of women! Any more than Ahkmatova’s lover.
I was thinking: thank you Gloria Steinem and many others who never thought that love takes away from the freedom of women. (Even if she did work for the CIA in the late 1960s and early 1970s!).
Thanks for your comment.
What a stunning and passionate piece of writing.
Thank you, Sarah, for sharing these burning verses next to the legacy of Winterthur.