So much of life I have neglected
In following where pleasure calls!
Yet were not morals ill affected
I even now would worship balls
I love youth’s wanton, fevered madness,
The crush, the glitter, and the gladness,
The ladies’ gowns so well designed;
I love their feet--although you’ll find
That all of Russia scarcely numbers
Three pairs of shapely feet…And yet,
How long it took me to forget
Two special feet. And in my slumbers
They still assail a soul grown cold
And on my heart retain their hold.
~ Alexander Pushkin, Eugene Onegin
Mark Alexei
