"On July 6,
1816, two days before his death, Derzhavin began to write, with chalk on a
slate, the poem that would have become his best ode, if he had had the chance
to finish it:"
Dear Alexey,
My beloved professor Vladimir Markov proved that the stanza you quote was not the beginning of a longer ode, but quite literally the end (konets). The proof is an acrostic. Half in jest he liked to say that he should have been awarded a Nobel prize for this discovery.
Carolyn Kunin