Arseny Tarkovsky
Do I need excuses...

Do I need excuses
For divine mismatching? —
Poetry and music
Aren't cure-all magic.

And why hum insanely
Tunes and verses hopeless?
Having nothing saintly
Feels more fun and homeless.

And our gain is pretty
Minuscule and fleeting —
Only heartfelt pity,
So the heart skips beating.

And besides — the knack for
Dialogues with silence,
Rivalry and echo
Between past and timeless...

Translated by Alexander Givental