Skip to content

Poems on the Underground
  • Poems on the Underground
  • This Month’s Poems
  • Poem of the Week
  • Recordings
  • Index
  • About Us…
  • Menu

Goldfinch, friend I’ll cock my head

Goldfinch, friend, I’ll cock my head— by Osip Mandelstam translated from the Russian by Andrew Davis Goldfinch, friend, I’ll cock my head— Let’s check the world out, just me and you: This winter’s day pricks like chaff; Does it sting your eyes too? Boat-tailed, feathers yellow-black, Sopped in color beneath your beak, Do you get, you goldfinch you, Just how you flaunt it? What’s he thinking, little airhead— White and yellow, black and red! Both eyes check both ways—both!— Will check no more—he’s bolted! December 9-27, 1936 Poems on the Underground Reprinted by permission of New York Review Books from Osip Mandelstam, Voronezh Notebooks (2016)

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Imtiaz Dharker Twitter

My Tweets

George Szirtes Twitter

My Tweets

Imtiaz Dharker FB

Imtiaz Dharker FB

George Szirtes FB

George Szirtes FB
© 2026 Poems on the Underground and respective creatorsTheme by SiteOrigin