Зинаида Гиппиус — Мне повстречался дьяволенок (Дьяволенок)

Zinaida Gippius

Dyavolenok

Mne povstrechalsya dyavolenok,
Khudoy i shchuply — kak komar.
On telom byl sovsem rebenok,
Litsom zhe dik: oster i star.

Shel dozhd... Drozhit, temneyet telo,
Namokla vsklochennaya sherst...
I ya podumal: eko delo!
Ved tozhe merznet. Tozhe perst.

Tverdyat: lyubov, lyubov! Ne znayu.
Ne slyshno chto-to. Ne vidal.
Vot zhalost... Zhalost ponimayu.
I dyavolenka ya poymal.

Poydem, detenysh! Khochesh gretsya?
Ne boysya, sherstku ne yerosh.
Chto tut na ulitse teretsya?
Dam detke sakharu... Poydesh?

A on vdrug edak sochno, zychno,
Muzhskim, laskayushchim baskom
(Priznatsya — dazhe neprilichno
I zhutko bylo eto v nem) —

Prorokotal: «Chto sakhar? Glupo.
Ya, sladky, sakharu ne yem.
Davay telyatinki da supa...
Uzh ya poydu k tebe — sovsem».

On razozlil menya bakhvalstvom...
A ya khotel yeshche pomoch!
Da nu tebya s tvoim nakhalstvom!
I ne spesha poshel ya proch.

No on zamorshchilsya i tonko
Zakhryukal... Smotrit, kak bolnoy...
Opyat mne zhal... I dyavolenka
Tashchu, trudyas, k sebe domoy.

Smotryu pri lampe: dokhly, gadky,
Ne to ditya, ne to starik.
I vse tverdit: «Ya sladky, sladky...»
Ostavil ya yego. Privyk.

I dazhe kak-to s dyavolenkom
Sovsem szhilsya ya nakonets.
On v polden prygayet kozlenkom,
Pod vecher — temen, kak mertvets.

To khodit gogolem-muzhchinoy,
To vyetsya baboy vkrug menya,
A yesli dozhdik — pakhnet psinoy
I sherstku lizhet u ognya.

Ya prezhde vsem sebya trevozhil:
Khotel togo, mechtal o tom...
A s nim moy dom... ne to, chto ozhil,
No zatyanulsya, kak pushkom.

Bezradostno-blagopoluchno,
I nezhno-sonno, i temno...
Mne s dyavolenkom sladko-skuchno...
Ditya, starik, — ne vse l ravno?

Takoy smeshnoy on, myagky, khlipky,
Kak razlagayushchysya grib.
Takoy on tsepky, sladky, lipky,
Vse lipnul, lipnul — i prilip.

I oba stali my — yediny.
Uzh ya ne s nim — ya v nem, ya v nem!
Ya sam v nenastye pakhnu psinoy
I sherst lizhu pered ognem...