Waves roll in columns on their usual route –
Splashing and humming, they run;
People, too, stride in a lousy crowd –
Every one trails everyone.
Waves favor cold of their slavery more
Than heat of midday sunny rays,
People take care of their souls… But lo! –
Their souls are colder than waves!
                                                           

                                                                1837

Translated by Yevgeny Bonver, November, 2000
Edited by Dmitry Karshtedt, June, 2001