Huh, I kind of like that sentence and that kind of florid prose.
“A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.”
> It was a dark and stormy night.
or even
> It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents.
are actually excellent. I like the rest of it as well. It just shouldn't be a single sentence.
I'm not a professional writer but I personally like this rephrasing.
London. Thunder. Rain.
A direct translation:
Night, street, lamp, drugstore, A dull and meaningless light. Go on and live another quarter century - Nothing will change. There's no way out.
You'll die, then start from the beginning, It will repeat, just like before: Night, icy ripples on a canal, Drugstore, street, lamp.
More attempts here: https://ruverses.com/alexander-blok/night-street-lamp-drugst...