To Roman Gul
Even the graves are not tended in Russia,
Once they may have been, but I have forgotten.
There is no Petersburg, no Moscow, no Kiev,
Once there may have been, alas I have forgotten.
Neither seas, rivers do I know, nor frontiers.
But I know the Russian man's still there.
He has a Russian heart, he has a Russian head.
I'll understand him from the very first word said,
When I meet him face to face ... Then I shall begin
To see his country too, dimly through the mist.
Роману Гулю
Нет в России даже дорогих могил,
Может быть и были — только я забыл.
Нету Петербурга, Киева, Москвы —
Может быть и были, да забыл, увы.
Ни границ не знаю, ни морей, ни рек,
Знаю - там остался русский человек.
Русский он по сердцу, русский по уму,
Если я с ним встречусь, я его пойму.
Сразу, с полуслова... И тогда начну
Различать в тумане и его страну.
«to Valentina Serova Peace will be signed and we’ll be at your door / At twelve o’clock at night, with noise and mirth, / Your humble servant, just as in the war, / And all his dearest friends — those that remain on earth. / That night I wish that you may be again / That woman who is...»
«to Valentina Serova With death an inch above my head / Upon the blackened ridge I lay / And I was grateful in my heart / That you were very far away. / And thunder was not in your ears, / And hell was not before your eyes, / And somewhere in a distant town, / A peaceful house and gard...»
«to Valentina Serova Well may I curse in years to come / The features of your face. / My love is like a cataclysm, / Transcending time and space. / There's not a friend or comrade dear / Who in the light of day / Could come into this flaming fire / And pull me clear away. / Despairin...»
«Don't weep! Above the yellow steppe / Still hangs the same late summer heat / And they, with children on their backs, / Come still, with tired and stumbling feet. No tears! And as the crowd goes by / From Stalingrad to God knows where, / Don't try to catch their downcast eyes — / You ...»