You may live uncleanly and absurdly:
Bullies’ giggles, rattles in the dust,
Open is your street, and foul overtly:
Laughter of a prostitute, like rust.
Dirty girlfriends, swarming, crazy psychos,
Anger, vice, deep poverty, and filth,
How can there appear in such a cycle
Dreams and inspirations to fulfill?
Still, they’ll come! They always keep arriving!
People’s life conjures creative ways.
Just above the blurry foam, alive now,
Worldwide beauty, built upon its waves.
Ты живёшь безумно и погано,
Улица, доступная для всех, —
Грохот пыльный, хохот хулигана,
Пьяной проститутки ржавый смех.
Копошатся мерзкие подруги, —
Злоба, грязь, порочность, нищета.
Как возникнуть может в этом круге
Вдохновенно-светлая мечта?
Но возникнет! Вечно возникает!
Жизнь народа творчества полна,
И над мутной пеной воздвигает
Красоту всемирную волна.
«He’s standing there, beside the glowing furnace, A small man, probably older than you’d think. His gaze is peaceful, seems almost submissive From the way his reddened eyelids blink. All his workmates have knocked off — they’re sleeping But he’s still working, showing what he’s w...»
«‘Tis bliss for him, friends of my life, / Who’s not ill with a silly passion, / Who has not time to fall in love, / Who’s all in all and satisfaction, / His sadness never can him find, / His funs are really the endless, / He wrought a harem in his mind, / And there enjoys it wit...»
«A phantom roams through the house. / There are footsteps in upstairs rooms. / All day, shades flit through the attic. / Through the house a goblin roams. He loafs about, gets in the way, / He interferes and causes trouble, / Creeps up to the bed in a dressing gown, / And pulls the cloth...»
«I am no more the ardent lover / Who caused the world such vast amaze: / My spring is past, my summer over, / And dead the fires of other days. / Oh, Eros, god of youth! your servant / Was loyal — that you will avow. / Could I be born again this moment, / Ah, with what zest I'd serve ...»