Boris Slutsky
I am fudging reality...

I am fudging reality
And massaging my verse
Undeniable quality
So timid and terse.

It is now complacent
With the laws of the land,
It is nice and complaisant,
It is praising and grand.

To avoid any chances
I'll defang every tooth
I will chase from the stanzas
Any tracings of truth.

For a few dirty rubles
I will torture my lines,
Will denounce their scruples
Will disfigure their spines

I'll belie my creation
I'll betray what's my seed...
But there's something to mention,
But there's something to heed.

But the best and the bravest
I will keep all the way.
I will publish my pages
Unredacted some day!

Translated by Igor Mazin