You Thought I Was That Type

Portrait of Anna Akhmatova
Anna Akhmatova 1889–1966

You thought I was that type: That you could forget me, And that I'd plead and weep And throw myself under the hooves of a bay mare,

Or that I'd ask the sorcerers For some magic potion made from roots and send you a terrible gift: My precious perfumed handkerchief.

Damn you! I will not grant your cursed soul Vicarious tears or a single glance.

And I swear to you by the garden of the angels, I swear by the miracle-working icon, And by the fire and smoke of our nights: I will never come back to you.

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