I don't like Maxim Gorky all that much but he has a few really good pieces that I enjoy.
This one particular poem is actually part of a story. The poem is in the middle of the story and is told in an unusual format of song/ballad story telling.
High in the mountains, near a river gorge,
A grass snake crawled in between rocks,
Coiled in a circle, it looked out into the sea.
High in the sky, the sun was shining,
Mountains were breezing with hot air that rose above,
And waves were crushing over the rocks.
Torrents were rushing through the gorge,
Old and gray-haired, they cut through the mountains,
With angry howls falling into the sea.
Suddenly, where the grass snake lay,
A falcon fell from the sky,
With crushed breast and bloody feathers.
With a shriek he fell out of the sky,
And now was beating against the rocks,
In helpless anguish.
Snake was scared and jumped back,
But soon it understood,
That the Falcon was going to soon die.
It crawled closer to the bird,
And hissed right into Falcon's eyes:
"You are dying, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," replied Falcon and took a deep breath,
"I lived well! I know happiness! I fought with courage! I saw the sky!
"You will never see it so close! You, poor thing!"
"What sky?! It's an empty place.
How would I crawl there?
I feel great right where I am: it's warm and damp"
So replied Snake to the haughty bird,
And smiled over his non-sense:
"Whether you crawl or fly, all will return to the ground in the end, dust to dust."
But Falcon shook and looked over the gorge:
Water was seeping through the gray stones,
And stuffy, putrid smell rose over the shades.
With yearning and anguish Falcon cried out:
"Oh, if I only could rise once more, to press my opponent to my wounds,
And choke him in my blood! Oh, glory of battle!"
Snake thought, "May be he is right,
The sky might be a pleasant place to live after all,
Since he is crying so"
It offered to the free bird, "Move toward the ledge and jump"
Perhaps wings would support you,
And you would live some more in your element."
Falcon shuddered and moved toward the edge,
His claws sliding on moldy and slippery rocks,
Fire glittering in his eyes.
He took a deep breath and jumped.
Like a stone he fell,
Hitting rocks, breaking his wings and loosing feathers.
A wave grabbed his body,
Washed his blood, dressed him in foam
And took him to the sea.
Waves were crushing against the rock,
With grief.
And Falcon's corpse was not to be seen in the depths of the sea.
Quietly lying, grass snake pondered
Over Falcon's death,
Over his passion for the sky.
It looked into the distance,
That pleases eyes,
With dreams of happiness.
"What did he see there,
In such desolation without and end or bottom?
Why those like him trouble souls with dreams about the love to fly?"
"What do they find there?
Perhaps I could understand,
If I flew for a little while."
And so he did,
Coiled in the ring he jumped,
Sparked in the sun like a narrow ribbon.
"Born to crawl - can not fly"
Forgetting this, Snake fell,
But did not die, but laughed.
"So this is joy of flying?!
It's in falling dawn...
Silly birds!"
"Not knowing the Earth, they long down here and seek life in the desolation.
But it's empty.
There are much light, but there is no support, for an earthly body."
"Why haughtiness? Why reproaches?
It's because they need to cover their madness and to conceal their uselessness.
Silly birds! They would deceive me no more!"
"I know it all, I saw the sky, I flew in it and measured it,
I knew a fall but did not die,
I only believe stronger in my convictions."
"Let those who do not love earth live the lie,
I know the truth and would not answer their calls.
An earthly creature, I live on Earth."
Coiled on a rock, Snake rested taking pride in itself.
Sea shined and sparkled in bright rays of sun,
And waves roared angrily, breaking and crushing.
In roar they were singing the song about a haughty bird.
Cliffs shuddered from the hits,
Sky shuddered from the song:
"To the madness of the brave, we sing this glory!
Madness of the brave...
The wisdom of life!"
"Oh, brave Falcon! In battle you drained your blood.
But with time - your hot blood, like sparks will flare in the darkness of life,
And it will light many brave hearts with insane thirst for freedom!"
"Although you perished, in song of strong and brave
You spirit will always be an example,
A call to freedom and light!"
"To the madness of the brave, we sing this glory!"