Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova

The great Russian poet Anna Akhmatova was born Anna Andreyevna Gorenko in the town of Bolshoy Fontan, near Odessa, on June 11, 1889. Her father was a naval captain and her mother came from an

Before Spring There Are Days Like These

by Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova (1889–1966)

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16

Before spring there are days like these:

Under the dense snow the meadow rests,

The trees merrily, drily rustle,

And the warm wind is tender and supple.

And the body marvels at its lightness,

And you don't recognize your own house,

And that song you were tired of before,

You sing like a new one, with deep emotion.

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