ODE TO EMPRESS ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA

ODE TO EMPRESS ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA

Written by Alexander Myslovsky

Everything passes like a dream in this life

And in the darkness it disappears without a trace.

Only love, like the sun in its zenith,

Will burn forever in this world …

And like a lily in the Garden of Eden,

You bloomed under its living rays.

And like a fairytale princess,

You dreamed about a beautiful prince.

And in the path of unknown fate

He appeared in front of you, like a wonder:

The Russian Prince with otherworldly eyes,

He captured your heart.

You could not fall in love with another,

This wonder will not happen again.

And the Princess of a German House

Became the Tsaritsa of All the Russias.

Wearing garments of angelic bird of paradise,

Had not forgotten about her chicks.

Alexandra – the Holy Empress

You adopted all Russia.

Before the Heavenly King in the sky

You remained so dear and close.

Protect us with Your prayer

And warm us with Your maternal love.

Dreaming of cloudless happiness,

You opened your heart to your new Motherland.

Only instead of celestial paradise

You fell down to the mournful earth.

Life was not a fairytale. And so elusive

Is happiness in this bustling world.

You could not avoid tribulations, even dressed in royal purple.

You had to forget about peace forever,

Let others dream of happiness.

With Your majestic Spouse you shared

All the labors and sorrows of the world.

And under the burden of the intolerable

You only found consolation in one thing:

Kneeling in front of the Son of God

And praying for eternal salvation.

And with God’s blessings,

Under the patronage of Queen of Heaven,

You gave five children as a consolation

To the Tsar and to Russia.

And on a rock of saving grace

You build heavenly home fire.

A bright example of piety

Your Holy Family became.

But winds of insanity started to blow,

And the bloody rivers raged,

And the breath of dark death

Shattered Your happiness forever.

And clutching each other in close embraces,

You approached the threshold of the world,

And when the hour of crucifixion arrived,

You all stepped up to the Calvary …

(translated by Helen Azar)