And one day in the future, in this country If you want to erect a monument to me I can agree to such a grand ceremony But one condition must be adhered to Don't build on the seaside where I was born The last link between me and the sea has been severed Nor by the hidden stumps of the Royal Gardens The shadow of despair there is looking for me And to be here, where I stood for three hundred hours Where the door is always closed to me Because I'm afraid of a peaceful death That would make you forget the roar of Black Malus That way you will forget the disgusting sobbing at the door The old woman howled like a wounded animal Let the frozen eyelids of the bronze statue shed tears like melting snow Let the prison doves coo in the distance Let the sea boats sail peacefully along the Neva River Akhmatova Requiem