Joseph Brodsky «Christmas», 1963

The Magi have come. The baby was fast asleep.
The star shone brightly from the firmament.
A cold wind was shoveling snow into a snowdrift.
Sand rustled. The fire crackled at the entrance.
The smoke was coming from a candle. The fire curled like a hook.
And the shadows became shorter,
then suddenly longer. No one knew around
that the life count would start from that night.
The Magi have come. The baby was fast asleep.
Steep arches surrounded the manger.
The snow was swirling. White steam was billowing.
The baby was lying, and the gifts were lying.

Joseph Brodsky is a Russian and American poet, essayist, playwright and translator, teacher. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1987, poet laureate of the USA in 1991-1992. He wrote poems mainly in Russian, essays — in English. Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg (1995). It is believed that it is difficult to read, so this little girl made an impression on me.///
Иосиф Бродский — русский и американский поэт, эссеист, драматург и переводчик, педагог. Лауреат Нобелевской премии по литературе 1987 года, поэт-лауреат США в 1991-1992 годах. Он писал стихи в основном на русском языке, эссе — на английском. Почетный гражданин Санкт-Петербурга (1995). Считается, что ее трудно читать, поэтому эта маленькая девочка произвела на меня впечатление.