Sergei Yesenin

Country, O My Country!..

Country, O My Country!.. - meaning Summary

Yearning Amid Urban Decay

The poem depicts a weary speaker moving through a cold, rain-soaked town and resisting a direct look at its bleakness. He prefers half-seeing and small consolations—a bell tower, neighborhood compassion—while addressing an anonymous fellow human. Resignation and shared endurance replace triumph: the body endures the chill, and only death can finally close the eyes that have witnessed harsh reality. The tone mixes tenderness with bitter acceptance.

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Country, o my country! Autumnal rainy tin. The shivering streetlight reflects Its lipless head in a black puddle. No, it's best not to look, Or else I'll see something worse. I'll just keep squinting my eyes At all this rusted haze. It's warmer this way and less painful. Look: between the skeletons of houses A bell tower, like a miller, carries The copper bagfuls of bells. If you're hungry, you will be nourished. If you're miserable, you'll find joy. Just don't look at me too openly, My unknown earthly brother. As I thought, so I did. But alas! It's the same every time! Looks like my body is too used to Feeling this shivering cold. Well, so what! There are many others, I'm not the only one alive in the world! As for the street light, one moment it blinks, The next moment it laughs with its lipless head. Only my heart, under shabby clothes, Whispers to me, who has visited solid ground: "My friend, my friend, the eyes that have seen Can only be shut by death."

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