Angel of Death

Angel of Death

Nikolay Alekseevich Nekrasov

The time for transformation will come

The end of the path of life,

Death throes approach

I hear in my aching chest

And the angel will come down to the head,

Cross three times in autumn,

With inexpressible love

And look at me sadly;

Lower his eyes and a little audibly,

Sorrowfully he will say: “It is decided!

Life under the sun is not without a sunset,

In an hour you are not a link in the world.

Pray! " - and I will pray,

And I will cry bitterly

And he himself will weep with me

He, not concealing compassion.

He will teach me the sounds

Prayers available to the Lord,

And a heart devoted to torment

In his chest he will repeat them dully.

Will appoint the moment of death

He bowed his head sadly,

And I will timidly ask:

Will the Lord forgive me there?

Suddenly the cold will flow through the veins,

He will say in a whisper: "Now!"

The holy sacrament will be fulfilled,

The neighbors will exclaim: "Fade away!"

Suddenly ... he closes his eyes with entreaty,

A tear will light up an empty chest

And into the eternal light or to the eternal night

He will show the soul a secret path ...