I love at times to look out the window
And to observe other people's concerns.
I love at times to look out the window
And through this leave behind my work.
For a long time I stare very intently
Into the face of a young Jewish girl
Seeking to decipher in her expressions
The regulations of womanly charms.
Люблю порой смотреть в окно
И наблюдать других людей заботы
Люблю порой смотреть в окно
Тем самым уклоняясь от работы.
Я долго, пристально смотрю
В лицо молоденькой еврейки
Стараясь прочитать в чертах её лица
Законы женских чар
«A Swan, a Sand-Crab, and a Pike, one day, / Made up their minds to pull a cart of hay. / When all three had been harnessed up, the Swan said, “Start!” / I hey labored mightily, but couldn’t budge the cart. / Why not ? It was a light load, and not awkward. / But the Swan kept trying t...»
«Any beginning is the beginning of the end. / That’s why we begin with an egg, / but end up with a smashed shell, / and this is the way we crown any beginning. But we’ve been taught, but we’ve been drilled / not to think about the bitter outcome in the beginning, / not to think, not ...»
«Bad times are good because / they help the qualities of the soul to show themselves, / — executions, war, / famine, pestilence, bad times. While you’re still in one piece, while you’re fed and healthy, / haven’t been summoned to the courts, haven’t called the doctors, / your cei...»
«The cocked-arm gesture of the philosophical lyric is worth a ruble, / its punch is worth a penny, it’s small. / Perhaps we should make do with the empty and contemptible / — what’s its name? — soul? Let the philosophers do their philosophizing. / Let them look for ways / to persua...»