Elizaveta Friesem
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PATHETIC AND PROUD (White Wolf's  Song)

5/13/2021

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Picture
I promised to share more of my poems with you, so here you go. This one is kind of strange, I think, and it requires some explanations. 

The first person point of view comes from a white wolf, an outcast talking to regular wolves, or maybe to dogs. He describes them as "brown" and as a "dog herd," criticizing their vulgarity or conformity. The white wolf is proud to be different. He is even arrogant, describing his uniqueness and the special relationship he has with the moon: "I sing songs to her pale face//And she pours love to me from the sky." The white wolf is clearly condescending to the ones he is addressing: "I love you the way one loves a child," claiming that they are afraid of his difference: "your gaping fear has sharp teeth."

My favorite verse is the last one, where the white wolf recognizes that he is pathetic and miserable. He opposes those who (supposedly) hate him, yet understands that they are all intrinsically connected as "parts of one eternal whole." This yin and yang kind of relationship is so vital and strange that it hints "at the courage of nonsense." (Nonsense in this context means an oxymoron, a paradox). Although the white wolf acknowledges his misery, with the very last line he still asserts his power over the mundane: "the universe is the shiny pupil of my eye."

The poem was originally written in Russian. The translation lacks the rhythm and rhymes of the original, unfortunately. You can my other poems, most of them still not translated, on this page.

White Wolf's Song

Burning snow of my fur -
Freezing flame in your eyes.
All of you are brown, toothless and brown,
But your gaping fear has sharp teeth.

I sing songs to her pale face,
And she pours love to me from the sky.
You hate her as much as you hate me - 
Hate the boiling blood with your black blood.

I bypass your dog herd,
But I love you the way one loves a child.
I don't need your pity, 
And I am not disturbed by curses.

We all are parts of one eternal whole,
Hinting at the courage of nonsense.
Yes, I am pathetic, miserable, and squalid,
But the universe is the shiny pupil of my eye.
Песня Белого Волка  
​
​
​Обжигающий снег моей шкуры –
Холод пламени в ваших глазах.
Все вы буры, беззубы и буры,
Но зубаст ваш зияющий страх.

Я пою её лик белокожий,
И она льёт мне с неба любовь.
Вы её ненавидите тоже:
Чёрной кровью – кипящую кровь.

Обхожу ваше псиное стадо,
Но люблю вас, как любят дитя.
Вашей жалости волку не надо
И проклятья его не смутят.

Все мы – вечного целого части,
Мы – на смелость бессмыслья намёк.
Да, я жалок, убог и несчастен,
Но весь мир – мой блестящий зрачок.
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I use AI tools as a kind of writing partner—to shape drafts, clarify arguments, and explore phrasing. But the ideas, perspectives, and direction are always my own. Every piece here is part of an evolving personal project. For more details about my use of AI, see here.
  • About
  • Books
    • Media is us >
      • Principles of communication
      • Micro- and macropower
      • ACE model
      • Description of chapters
    • Hypertexts >
      • Me, looking for meaning >
        • A >
          • Are you an individual?
        • B
        • C
        • D
        • E >
          • Empathy with Boundaries
        • F
        • G
        • H >
          • Human thinking
          • Human thinking is nonlinear
        • I >
          • Ideas
        • J
        • K
        • L >
          • List of completed pages
          • The Lure of Special
        • M >
          • Make Sense
          • Mean and stupid
          • Meaning
          • Meaningless
          • Meaning-making vs. sensemaking
          • My quest for meaning
          • The Myth of "Bad People"
        • N >
          • Narratives and Circumstances
        • O >
          • On being a scholar
        • P >
          • Postmodern philosophy
        • Q
        • R >
          • Reality
          • Rethinking What It Means to “Love Your Enemy”
          • Rhizome in philosophy
        • S >
          • Stories we tell
          • Symbolic interactionism and Buddhism
        • T >
          • The importance of having a purpose
          • Three Blind Men vs Rashomon
          • Three Coordinates
          • Trust and Conflict (and Dragons)
        • U
        • V
        • W >
          • What does it mean to "understand"?
          • Why do people hurt each other?
          • Why is language so unhelpful?
          • Moral complexity and ambiguity of truth in Wicked
        • X
        • Y
        • Z
  • Editing
    • Me as your editor
    • How I will help you
    • Pricing
    • Privacy policy
  • Blog
  • Poetry
    • Video poems (English and Russian) >
      • Butterfly (poem)
      • One day, I will return (poem)
      • Where are you now? (poem)
      • Hole in the world (poem)
      • Wondering (poem)
      • Wanderer II (poem)
      • What people call love (poem)
      • Lullaby (poem)
      • You Walk Along These Streets (Poem in Russian)
    • Russian poems >
      • Stranger
      • Lonely heart
      • Fairy tales
      • Dreams and nightmares
      • Puzzles
      • Moon
      • Seasons
      • Muse
      • Art
      • Games
      • Sketches
      • Nonsense
  • Learn more
    • Bio
    • Talks and interviews
    • Essays
    • Epoxy resin
    • Photography
    • Workshops >
      • Five (easy) steps to become media literate
      • Surviving the polarization vortex
      • Understanding yourself
      • Not enough
  • Contact me