I had never heard of mugwort before. American nurseries and garden centers often sell Artemisia, however, as a bedding plant. It often has whitish markings and what looks like white powder on it, which may be referred to as the пыли in line 10.
I notice a consistent pattern of imagery in Zenkevich’s poems. Daylight, summer, heat, and the sun seem to be oppressive and associated with reality, reason, and the mundane. Night, darkness, moonlight, coolness, and the moon have positive associations with imagination, creativity, and romance. Additionally he often links references to blood, the color red, and femininity. His speakers often seem to be schzoid, unable to form real romantic relationships, but obsessed with idealized, unattainable women or girls, sometimes becoming psychotic. The poem about the child murderer reminds me of Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues like “Porphyria’s Lover” or “My Last Duchess.”
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