Original (Russian)
Отпусти меня, пустыня, отпусти,
Сорок лет дубеет кожа на ступнях.
Что за подлая привычка у пустынь —
Жертву от себя не отпускать!
Сорок лет не жил я, выживал,
Пёк опресноки на жарких валунах,
Но в блужданьях мне открылась вышина,
И в страданьях поборол я липкий страх.
Так постиг я, что не страшен супостат,
Гад ползучий и ревущий лютый зверь.
Неспроста в душе исчезла пустота,
Впрок, наполнившись сладчайшею из вер.
Свод небесный — Б-жьих заповедей свод
На себя взвалил, не горбясь, не ропща,
И каменья самых яростных пород
Прочь отбросил — да бездействует праща.
Я с себя коросту рабства в кровь содрал,
В купе с кожею и мясом, до кости.
И теперь, в преддверье смертного одра,
Мне бы только до свободы дорасти.
Сорок лет… Обета вышел срок
И Всевышнего о милости моля,
Я бреду, как мне велел пророк,
Где же ты, Обетованная земля?
English translation
Let me go, desert, let me go,
For forty years the skin on my soles has been hardening.
What a vile habit deserts have —
Not to let their victim go!
For forty years I did not live, I survived,
Baked unleavened bread on hot boulders,
But in my wanderings the heights were revealed to me,
And in my sufferings I overcame the sticky fear.
So I came to understand that the foe is not to be feared,
Nor the creeping reptile, nor the roaring fierce beast.
Not without reason did the emptiness vanish from my soul,
To good purpose, having filled with the sweetest of faiths.
The vault of heaven — the code of G-d’s commandments —
I took upon my shoulders, not stooping, not grumbling,
And stones of the most furious kinds
I threw away — let the sling lie idle.
I tore the scab of slavery off myself till I bled,
Together with skin and flesh, down to the bone.
And now, on the threshold of my deathbed,
If only I could grow up to freedom.
Forty years… The term of the vow has run out
And, begging the Most High for mercy,
I trudge on, as the prophet told me,
Where are you, Promised Land?
The English is a literal, line-by-line translation, given so that readers can follow the original.
About the poem
Impressions of the poem “Exodus”:
A strong image: The poem at once plunges the reader into the speaker’s exhaustion and despair. The repeated words “forty years” stress how long his sufferings in the desert have lasted, and the description of the cracked skin on his soles creates a vivid, tangible image.
Emotional intensity: The poem is full of emotion. At first one feels anger and bitterness (“What a vile habit deserts have — / Not to let their victim go!”), then comes enlightenment (“But in my wanderings the heights were revealed to me, / And in my sufferings I overcame the sticky fear”).
Spiritual transformation: The hero’s journey through the desert appears not simply as a physical trial but as a path of spiritual growth. He gains faith, throws off the fetters of slavery and becomes stronger.
Symbolism: The poem is rich in symbols. The desert stands for the hardships of life, the wandering for the search for oneself, and the Promised Land for salvation and spiritual rebirth.
Language: The language of the poem is simple and expressive. The author uses vivid verbs (“came to understand”, “overcame”, “tore off”), epithets (“sweetest”, “most furious”) and metaphors (“the vault of heaven — the code of G-d’s commandments”).
On the whole: “Exodus” is a powerful and moving poem about faith, endurance and the search for oneself.
Some further thoughts:
- The poem can be read as an allegory of a human life.
- The image of the desert may be universal, standing for any of life’s trials.
- The poem leaves its ending open, prompting the reader to reflect on the meaning of life, on freedom and on the spiritual search.
