Heaven Above, Heaven Below

Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov 1866 (Moscow) – 1949 (Rome)



Night opens wide the burning Macrocosm,-
And heaven's hierarchies come into view
Lo, the spirit sings, and the elements dance
Interwoven with snaky locks of starlight.

And the Microcosm grows distinct in the deep night:
We hear the roar of elements spinning inside us,-
And behold our own hierarchical assemblage
From close stars to dim-eyed spots of light.

There is a milky way in the soul as in the heavens;
There is a multitude in both of these creations:
The same word is stamped in both of these books -

And twin scales measure the same weight.
There is a He in the flames of depths revealed;
There is an I in the deepest miracles.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

36 sec read
78

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXA AXXA BBX XXX
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 631
Words 119
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3

Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov

Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian poet and playwright associated with the Russian Symbolist movement. more…

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