Poems of the End

Tsvetaeva always regarded the narrative poem as her true challenge, and she created powerful and intensely original works in the genre. They can be seen as markers of various stages in her poetic development, ranging from the early, folk-accented "On a Red Steed" to the lyrical-confessional "Poem of the Mountain" and "Poem of the End" to the more metaphysical later poems, "An Attempt at a Room," a beautiful requiem for Rainer Maria Rilke, "New Year's Greetings," and "Poem of the Air," a stirring celebration of Lindbergh's transatlantic flight and the quest for the soul's freedom.