To rock a cradle this morning in May?
Proud neck in lasso, like some?
Distaff to jailbird, to herder — a shawn,
To me — a drum.
Role of a woman's not dear to me:
I fear not wounds, but boredom.
Gives to me everything — honor and might —
This my drum.
So many countries I have not seen!
Trees are in bloom, stands the sun..
Kill all the sorrow around you in flight,
Beat, my drum!
Beat, now you drummer! Ahead of all!
All else — deceit for the dumb!
Why does it conquer the heart on the way.
How is the drum?
В майское утро качать колыбель?
Гордую шею в аркан?
Пленнице — прялка, пастушке — свирель,
Мне — барабан.
Женская доля меня не влечёт:
Скуки боюсь, а не ран!
Всё мне дарует, — и власть и почёт
Мой барабан.
Солнышко встало, деревья в цвету…
Сколько невиданных стран!
Всякую грусть убивай на лету,
Бей, барабан!
Быть барабанщиком! Всех впереди!
Всё остальное — обман!
Что покоряет сердца на пути,
Как барабан?
«There's one night left to build fortifications. / It's in my hands, the hope for our salvation. I'm yearning for the past; then I could warn / Those who were doomed to perish in this war. A man across the street would hear me cry, / "Come here, now, and death will pass you by." I'd know the...»
«Be it fortune or misfortune / Trust the simple truth: / Never go back home in search of / our departed youth. Cindered ruins have been cleared / And the place restored. / Yet, we won't discover there / What we are looking for. Trips to yesteryear, oh brother, / I would forbid to all...»
«A tiny snake witch in the cove, / She lies in my heart's hidden corner. / But then she becomes a white dove / And coos on my sill with sweet murmur. She sparkles in moonlit snowflakes, / She smells of a violet flower, / But firmly and covertly takes / The peace of my soul in her power. ...»
«I built my wealthy home; it is a real feat, / All made of solid wood; no marble slab, no tiling, / My flowers, fountain, and vineyard seemed beguiling / To noble visitors, those of the royal suite. To fill my rooms with sun and air, as I like / Three heavy walls were taken down by my order,...»