The poem, which is dated March 3, 1937, appears in Issue 51 of Talisman: A Journal of Contemporary Poetry and Politics. Mandelstam (1891–1938) was a Russian poet who was arrested for anti-Soviet sentiment in his work and sent into exile, where he composed this poem. He later died while in transit to a labor camp. Translated from the Russian.

As for your pity and your mercy, France,
I plead for your chèvrefeuille, beg your earth,

For the truth of your doves and the lies of diminutive
Vintners fenced in by their cheesecloth nets.

Your closely cropped air in…