Tell Me Why The Moon Shines Palely

"Tell me why the moon shines palely On the city wall and orchards? It's as though the mist were veiling Russian fields laid bare by autumn" - To the nightly silent cypress, Lala dear, I put this question. But the trees made no reply to me, Raising their proud crowns to heaven. "Tell me why the moon shines sadly?" I asked flowers' in the coppice. "From the fluttering rose," they answered, "You shall find the cause of sorrow." Then the rose, her petals spreading, In dismay and sadness fluttered: "Shaganeh has been unfaithful, Shaganeh has kissed another, "Saying: 'The Russian will not notice... Hearts need songs, but songs a body...' That is why the moon has grown so Sadly pale and shines so wanly. "It has seen too much deception, Tears and torments none were seeking." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . But despite this ever blessed Are these lilac-blossom evenings.