The threshing barn is stifling and hot,
I laugh, but in my heart, I weep from spite.
My old friend mumbles to me: “Jinx it not,
Can’t you discern that luck is on our side!”
I listen to my old friend’s words with doubt.
He’s lost his sight, he’s ludicrous and vile.
He spent his whole life trampling the ground
Of long and dreary trails in denial.
My fragile voice is crying out with sorrow,
The ringing voice of those who knew no better:
“Our knapsacks are all emptied and tomorrow
Just promises more hunger and foul weather!”
Под навесом тёмной риги жарко,
Я смеюсь, а в сердце злобно плачу.
Старый друг бормочет мне: «Не каркай!
Мы ль не встретим на пути удачу!»
Но я другу старому не верю.
Он смешной, незрячий и убогий,
Он всю жизнь свою шагами мерил
Длинные и скучные дороги.
И звенит, звенит мой голос ломкий,
Звонкий голос не узнавших счастья:
«Ах, пусты дорожные котомки,
А на завтра голод и ненастье!»
«I need a miracle, Christ, My Lord! / Here, now, before the sun can rise! / O, let me pass on, while the world / Is like a book before my eyes. No, You are fair and will not judge: / "It’s not your time, and so live on." / For You have given me too much! / I long to take all roads — ...»
«For the first time, in the Strauss waltz / We discerned your quiet, haunting calling. / Now, we’re strangers to the living souls, / And we find the racing clocks consoling, Just like you, we hail the setting sun, / Get intoxicated with the nearing end. / We are rich with all that you ha...»
«The evening mist appeared above the town, / Submissively, the trains sped through the haze, / Clear as the petals of anemones, a face / Flashed in a window, youthful and round. A shadow on her eyelids. Like a crown, / Those golden curls… I hushed myself, amazed: / I understood that with...»
«Farewell! By God, I think that while / We’re both alive, we shall not meet! / We lack the courage for the feat / Of sharing words to reconcile. / Your tender face is kind and sweet, / My heart will cherish it, inspired, / And yet, by God, I think that while / We’re both alive, we s...»