Afanasy Fet (Афана́сий Фет, 1820-1892) is regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets of Russia, celebrated for the musicality and emotional subtlety of his verse. Fet’s poetry is sensual and melancholic, imbued with tints of sadness and quiet tragedy, often focusing on fleeting moments of love, nature, and inner feeling rather than on social or political themes. He believed in “art for art’s sake,” arguing that poetry should exist for beauty alone and not serve moral, ideological, or political purposes. This aesthetic position set him apart from many of his contemporaries, who were more concerned with social reform and realism.
In this poem, the author contemplated the beauty of the world from two sides - the outer one, inspired by the charms of nature; and the inner one with love as its major incentive.
Я тебе́ ничего́ не скажу́,
И тебя́ не встрево́жу ничу́ть,
И о том, что я мо́лча твержу́,
Не решу́сь ни за что намекну́ть.
Це́лый день спят ночны́е цветы́,
Но лишь со́лнце за ро́щу зайдёт,
Раскрыва́ются ти́хо листы́
И я слы́шу, как се́рдце цветёт.
И в больну́ю, уста́лую грудь
Ве́ет вла́гой ночно́й… я дрожу́,
Я тебя́ не встрево́жу ничу́ть,
Я тебе́ ничего́ не скажу́.
I won't tell you anything,
And I won't trouble you at all,
And about the thing that I silently repeat
I won't dare for anything to hint.
All day the night flowers sleep,
But a soon as the sun sets behind the grove,
The petals open quietly, slowly
And I hear my heart bloom.
And to my aching tired breast,
It's blowing with night moisture … I tremble.
I won't disturb you at all,
I won’t tell you anything.