“Thus every day, every year,
With death I join my thought
Of coming death the day,
Seeking among them to divine
“Where will Fortune send me death,—
In battle, in my wanderings, or on the waves?
Or shall the neighboring valley
Receive my chilled dust?
“But though the unfeeling body
Can equally moulder everywhere,
I, still, my birthland nigh,
Would have my body lie.
“Let near the entrance to my grave
Cheerful youth be engaged in play,
And let indifferent creation
Shine there with beauty eternally.”
21. Once passed through its mumps and measles, the soul of the poet now becomes conscious of its heavenly gift, and begins to have a conscious purpose. The poet becomes moralized, and the song becomes ethical. This is the beginning of the final stage, which the soul, if its growth continue healthy, must reach; and Pushkin, when singing, does retain his health. Accordingly in his address to the Steed, the purpose is already clearly visible.
THE HORSE.