Pushkin Poem: Няне, А С Пушкин (For My Nanny)

Recital of Pushkin's poem Няне (For My Nanny). As the name indicates, the poem is dedicated to his much loved nanny, Arina Rodionovna Matveyeva. According to Wikipedia: "Pushkin was entrusted to nursemaids and French tutors, and mostly spoke French until the age of ten. He became acquainted with the Russian language through communication with household serfs and his nanny, Arina Rodionovna, whom he loved dearly and was more attached to than to his own mother." As with " Я Помню.." at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYmB3uM_I38, I have taken the liberty of producing a translation that, in my opinion at least, conveys the feelings Pushkin was conveying to his nanny better than the only English version that seems to exist. In my harsh childhood of a life forlorn Your loving care for me was warm. For days on end in the forest so bleak You’re left alone rife with concern Your eyes alert - for me they seek You wait in pain for my safe return. By the window with your wool you sit You look beyond the gates firmly closed Your ageing hands can no longer knit You see nothing but a long and empty road. You fret with anguish at your plight It’s me that makes you feel the pain so tight. That’s how it was for you.