Page:Conversion of St Vladimir.pdf/47

 “Thus upon this mundane sphere

Honors quickly pass—

Yesterday you were a god,

Today you’re but an ass.

The new gods they establish

Must to their moods appeal,

Whom yesterday they murdered

Today before him kneel.

“No one but Tsars and autocrats

And other such galoots

Endure and last forever,

Like a pair of cowhide boots.”

I hardly would invent it

Even had I the skill,

Since I, for fabricating,

A prison cell might fill.