Eduard Bagritsky
The smugglers

Among fish, among stars
    A fishing boat sneaks
To Odessa with contraband,
    Manned by three Greeks.
Hanging over the starboard
    Where the chasm is near us:
Yanaki, Stavraki
    And Papa Satyros.
Look how the wind whoops
    And comes howling ker-whap,
Ramming into the bilge
    A raucous whitecap!
Let the mast hum,
    Let the nails ring:
‘It’s a good business,
    It’s a good thing!’
Let the stars splatter
    Their cargo all stacked up:
Cognac, stockings,
    And prophylactics...

Ay, Greek sail!
    Ay, Black Sea that heaves!
Ay, ay, Black Sea...
    Full of thieves!

. . . .

Close to midnight.
    Time to watch out.
Three men from the coast guard!
    Wind and darkness about.
Three men from the coast guard.
    Six eyes, sharp and steady,
Six eyes, sharp and steady,
    And a motorboat ready.
Three men from the coast guard!
    And a thief in sight!
Launch the craft:
    It’s a bad sea, all right!
So let the stern
    Hear the water sing:
‘It's a good business.
    It’s a good thing!’
Like St Vitus’ dance
    Let the gasoline brew
Through the pipes to the ribs
    And the speeded-up screw.

Ay, starry midnight!
    Ay, Black Sea that heaves!
Ay, Ay, Black Sea...
    Full of thieves!

. . . .

I wish I were there
    In the stem’s gust of black,
Moustache flicked by the wind,
    And sprawled on my back.
Seeing a star
    On the bent bowsprit hang.
Breaking my jaws
    With the Black Sea slang.
Hearing the wind bring
    Bitter cold to cut us
And the patrol engine’s
    Rapid staccatos!
Or perhaps it’s better
    To grasp a gun
And to watch the fog
    Where a thief may run...
And to feel the wind
    Slipping through my veins
After chasing sails
    Flying heaven’s plains...
And come face to face
    In a sudden turn
With a moustached Greek
    On a black stern.

So pulse through the veins,
    Rush to the sides,
My homeless youth.
    My frenzy! My tides!
And let my human blood
    Rain like stars and disperse;
Let me spurt like a shot
    To meet the universe!
Let the shameless waves,
    A singing throng,
Also twist my lips
    With a wicked song!
On this awesome expanse
    Let me sing breathlessly:
Ay, Ay, Black Sea
    You’re a damn good sea!...

Translated by Vladimir Markov and Merrill Sparks