Ach, to crash in a sheer fall —
Down — into dust on the asphalt!
The short length of earthly love
Bathed in tears- for how long?
Balcony. With their salty downpour
Come malicious kisses.
And inescapable hatred
A sigh: To expire in verses!
Squeezed into a ball in one's hand —
What: heart or handkerchief
Batiste? To such ablutions
There is a name: — Jordan.
Because this battle of love is
Merciless and savage.
To soar up from granite brows —
Is to expire in death!
Ах, с откровенного отвеса —
Вниз — чтобы в прах и в смоль!
Земной любови недовесок
Слезой солить — доколь?
Балкон. Сквозь соляные ливни
Смоль поцелуев злых.
И ненависти неизбывной
Вздох: выдышаться в стих!
Стиснутое в руке комочком —
Что́: сердце или рвань
Батистовая? Сим примочкам
Есть имя: — Иордань.
Да, ибо этот бой с любовью
Дик и жестокосерд.
Дабы с гранитного надбровья
Взмыв — выдышаться в смерть!
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«A German machinegunner will shoot me in the road, or / An incendiary bomb will break my legs, or An SS-kid will give me a bullet in the gut. / In any case, on this front, they’ve got me covered. Without my name, or glory, or even boots, / With frozen eyes I’ll gaze at the snow, blood-col...»
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