Acknowledgements

I express my grattitude to my translator, Elena Zacharenko, editor, Rebecca Goodrich, and book designer, Jody Masty.

Being drawn into earthly passions,
I knew that, in going from gloom to light,
Dressed in black, Dark Angel
Would rush to shout: “Salvation is a lie!”

Yet, unassuming and lighthearted,
Delightful as a noble deed,
Afterward comes White Angel,
To whisper that hope is true indeed.

B. Okudzhava, 1924