On November 14, 1925, Sergei Yesenin finished his darkest poem, "The Black Man".
His first version was incredibly tragic. "It seemed that my heart would break," is how the poet's wife Sofia Tolstaya described how she read the draft. But the final version of the song stands out for its depressing power. At the very beginning there is the appeal "my friend, my friend" - as in the poet's dying essay.
About a month left until his suicide.
My friend, my friend, I am very ill.
I don't know where this pain came from.
Or the wind whistles over an empty and abandoned field.
Or, like a grove in September, alcohol showers your brain.