Milestones

Milestones is an apt title for this collection, for the 84 poems within show a poet passing from mere talent into mastery of her craft. Composed between January and December 1916, these poems find the 24-year-old Tsvetaeva thirsting for the fullness of life while at the same time contemplating the inevitability of death - a theme she was to revisit many times in her career. Tsvetaeva's work of the time also reflects her knowledge of (and pride in) her native culture, especially the centrality of Moscow - which was the ultimate destination of all Russians. Throughout these verses she opens up the sensual wonders of nature - sky, forest, wind and not least her beloved daughter Alya, who would come to figure greatly in the work and legacy of her mother.