Covered with a glory that had lost it luster,
Ringed by cretins, tricksters, hypocrites,
The two-headed eagle1 did not fall in battle
But died a horrible, degraded death.
Grinning, one man said: "He made it!"
Another sobbed: "Lord, forgive..."
But no one guessed it was a stuffed bird
They'd carried into exile, and the grave.
___
1. From the tsarist coat of arms.
Овеянный тускнеющею славой,
В кольце святош, кретинов и пройдох,
Не изнемог в бою Орел Двуглавый,
А жутко, унизительно издох.
Один сказал с усмешкою: «дождался!»
Другой заплакал: «Господи, прости…»
А чучела никто не догадался
В изгнанье, как в могилу, унести.
Я научился понемногу
Шагать со всеми — рядом, в ногу.
По пустякам не волноваться
И правилам повиноваться.
Встают — встаю. Садятся — сяду.
Стозначный помню номер свой.
Лояльно благодарен Аду
За звёздный кров над головой.
«And with longing and love you will shake off / The heavy dream of everyday consciousness. / V. Soloviev I apprehend You. The years pass by - / Yet in constant form, I apprehend You. The whole horizon is aflame - impossibly sharp, / And mute, I wait, - with longing and with love. The whole...»
«Those born in obscure times / Do not remember their way. / We, children of Russia's frightful years / Cannot forget a thing. Incinerating years!, do you bring tidings / of madness or of hope? / The days of war, the days of freedom / Have left a bloody sheen on our faces. There is a mu...»
«You are millions. We are hordes and hordes and hordes. / Try and take us on! / Yes, we are Scythians! Yes, we are Asians - / With slanted and greedy eyes! For you, the ages, for us a single hour. / We, like obedient slaves, / Held up a shield between two enemy races - / The Tatars and ...»
«A thick, heavy curtain at the door, / Mist beyond the nighttime window. / Now that you know fear, Don Juan / What's your hateful freedom worth? Cold and empty is the lavish bedroom, / Servants sleep in the still night. / From a blissful, foreign, distant land / Comes a rooster's song. ...»