‘My gloom will not be illuminated.’
-from a Baroness Cherubina de Gabriak poem
in this house under a pear tree
I lay to rest the overheated verses of my youth
dying in exile for anthroposophical views
my threat distilled to these lines upon the page
wondering what unspoken secret carried me here
to the foothills of the West Tian Shan Mountains
Tashkent’s walls overwhelmed by the Lion Chernyayev
and a Russian Orthodox priest clutching his cross
to echo the destruction rained by Gengis Khan
I now know Voloshin’s prison of discovered places
Apollo, you ignited my star
gentle Voloshin brought the offering
playing the trickster to show the world its folly
crafting my identity to fan their imaginations
conflagration as readers melted with love
Gumilyov became obsessed with my creation
wrote intimate letters to my Silver Age image:
more suitable for consumption, mirroring male need
my crippled body hobbled the aspirations of my mind
paeans and poetry, a lyre created for Apollon’s honor
Baroness Cherubina birthed and slain
Voloshin defeated in his impish protection
our ruse exposed through crude sexual aggression
Gumilyov’s love burnished to hate
insisting the duel be fought where Pushkin fell
you will not understand that Cherubina
has never been a game for me
Cherubina was my birth, but, alas, it was a stillbirth –
brine blood of my creative endeavor
I buried her in a child’s coffin at Delphi
mysterious and mystical woman
rich, cloistered, fictitious
within her lay the temptations of sin and my voice,
now cloaked as Li Xiang Zi through another’s invention –
to escape the duality, I must always be fluid
Tell me before the last, will my lands be ever conquered, all my treasures plundered?
Notes: This poem (a repost from September 2012) is based in the historical duel between Nikolay Gumilyov and Maximilian Voloshin over the imaginary poet Baroness Cherubina de Gabriak (pen name of Elisaveta Dmitrieva). It is reposted for Meeting the Bar at dVerse where I am hosting today on the subject of Keats’ Negative Capability. The real author of Gabriak’s poetry, Elisaveta Dmitrieva, was born on March 31, 1887. Between 1890 and 1903 she suffered from tuberculosis of the bones and was left lame and barely able to walk. She studied French and Spanish literature at Saint Petersburg State University, and published some verses both before and after her Gabriak period but without much success. In 1911 she married Vasiliev, an engineer, and took his last name. Starting from 1921, she was searched and interrogated by the State Political Directorate along with other members of the Anthroposophic Society. Finally in 1927 she was exiled to Tashkent where she died in 1928 of liver cancer. Shortly before her death, she was visited in Tashkent by her friend Sinologist Yulian Shchutsky and wrote, influenced by him, 21 poems attributed to Li Xiang Zi, a fictional Chinese poet exiled for his “belief in immortality of human spirit”. The name of Li Xiang, invented by Shchutsky, means “a house under a pear tree”, where Dmitrieva indeed lived in Tashkent.
Wow, great research here, and a fine feathered poetic. You share an exotic niche in hidden history, another tragic poet, another duel, infused with passionate Russians, overseen by Mongol hordes; so much to digest, so much to like–good piece!
Thanks Glenn, I tried to spend some time in her head and hope I did her some justice here. The psychological and sociological aspects of the story are fascinating to me.
wow anna…this is excellent…and you make me so curious to learn more about her story…she sounds like an incredibly strong and brave woman… and also love the invented name Li Xiang…a house under a pear tree…what a wonderful name…thanks for hosting today…love the article…really thought-provoking and def. lots of things to ponder… really looking forward to all the replies
Thank you Claudia, there is little information about her but I read everything I could find. I have really enjoyed the wide ranging responses so far. I’m thrilled you loved the article, it was wonderful to research and write.
wow…fascinating piece..i need to read the notes first as i was googling the prison of discovered places…ha…but it took me to a wonderful site i got sucked into for a few minutes…intriguing that it would incite a duel as well…and then prompted more poetry as well in the 21 poems…you have to be one of the smartest poets i know…ha…where do you find these stories?
Ha, I love ending up in the hinterlands of the internet, always an adventure. I don’t know where I find the stories, I like to read a lot and explore, sometimes they fall in my lap when I’m researching other pieces. This one came up when I was reading about duels and I thought it was so compelling I had to write something about it.
Some people cram so much in such short lives.
And that in days when travel was never easy.
It seems nothing could hold this lady back.
They truly do; thanks for participating today!
What an inspiring, magical, potent, intellectual poem, Anna. Love it.**I am going to have to put on my thinking cap for this one, as well as my poet face.
Susan, you’ve made my day, thank you!
Wow what an interesting story as well as a brilliant poem.
Thanks Bjorn and for joining in today!
So much I didn’t know…she sounds so interesting.
She was, very nice to meet you.
Something new for me, thanks for sharing her story and journey ~ And thanks for your wonderful post at D’verse ~
Grace
Well I have learned something new, it certainly is an interesting story, what a struggle she had, and she is a striking looking woman. I may have to do some research myself before I could comment but thank you for the intrigue.
You are absolutely amazing. There’s enough information here to write a novel. Beautifully said, too!
I do love history and this is something not known to me. Love your piece and the story it tells.
I love the layering of this work Anna and the echoes that then sets up. Great exploration of persona and how identity is shaped through history, through others’ eyes. Great prompt.. lots of possibilities 🙂
This is a work to read and reread. (Twice so far.) There are exciting discoveries still to come from it, I believe.
As I read into this I began to realise that I had read it before. Never mind – it’s still a fascinating story and a wonderful poem, so definitely worth re-reading. Thanks for this – and for the wonderful article and prompt at dVerse.
Gorgeous, Anna!
Anna – your work is a constant fascination – always brings a subject unknown to me – loved the fictional name Li Xiang, a house under a pear tree. K
I love reading biographies and also the story here was quite compelling..and I understand that feeling…you must write about it..beautifully done, although rather deep and almost over my head…you wow me everytime..
Rich historical write – learned so much.
Anna :o]