The Wolves

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy 1817 (Saint Petersburg) – 1875 (Chernigov Governorate)



When the church-village slumbers
And the last songs are sung,
When the grey mist arising,
Is o'er the marshes hung,
'Tis then the woods forsaking,
Their way cross country taking,
Nine howling wolves come hungering for food.

Behind the first,--the grey one,--
Trot seven more of black,
Close on their hoary leader;
As rearguard of the pack
The red wolf limps, all bloody,
His paws with gore still ruddy
As after his companions grim he pants.

When through the village lurking
Nought gives them check or fright,
No watch dog dares to bellow,
The peasant ghastly white,
His breath can scarce be taking,
His limbs withhold from shaking--
While prayers of terror freeze upon his lips!

About the church they circle
And softly slink away
To prowl about the priest's farm,
Then of a sudden they
Are round the drink shop turning,
Fain some bad word be learning--
From peasants drinking noisily within.

With fully thirteen bullets
Thy weapon must be armed,
And with a wad of goat's hair;
Then thou wilt fight unharmed.
Fire calmly,--and before all
Will the leader, the grey, fall,
The rest will surely follow one by one.

When the cock wakes the village
From out its morning dream,
Thou wilt behold the corpses--
Nine she-wolves by the stream!
On the right lies the grey one,
To left in frost the lame one--
All bloody,--God pardon us sinners!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

1:12 min read
62

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBCCX DEXEFFA CGXGCCA XHXHCCX AIXIJJD XKAKDDA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,298
Words 238
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy

Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist and playwright, considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist, primarily on the strength of his dramatic trilogy The Death of Ivan the Terrible, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, and Tsar Boris. He also gained fame for his satirical works, published under his own name and under the collaborational pen name of Kozma Prutkov. His fictional works include the novella The Vampire, and the historical novel Prince Serebrenni. Aleksey was a member of the Tolstoy family, and a second cousin of Leo Tolstoy. Due to his mother's closeness with the court of the Tsar, Aleksey was admitted to the future Alexander II's childhood entourage and became "a comrade in games" for the young Crown Prince. As a young man Tolstoy traveled widely, including trips to Italy and Germany, where he met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Tolstoy began his education at home under the tutelage of his uncle the writer Antony Pogorelsky, under whose influence he first became interested in writing poetry, and a number of other teachers. more…

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