Kuzma Sergeyevich Petrov-Vodkin
"Mother and Child," 1927

I remember the bedroom and the glowing lamp,
the toys, the warmth of my little bed,
and your tender, gentle voice:
“An angel watches over you.”

The nanny would undress me,
softly scolding under her breath,
while sweet drowsiness blurred my eyes
and pulled me toward her shoulder.

You’d make the sign of the cross, kiss me,
remind me the angel’s near—
and fill my heart with trusting joy...
I remember, I remember your voice.

I remember night, the warmth of the bed,
the lamp flickering in the shadowed corner,
the chains’ faint shadows on the wall—
were you not then an angel yourself?

Ivan Bunin, “To My Mother”

Bright Bits