They christened us in the same tub,
They wed us with the same wreath,
They tortured us in the same jail,
They branded us with the same iron.
They will build us the same house.
They will cover us with the same mound.
Крестили нас — в одном чану,
Венчали нас — одним венцом,
Томили нас — в одном плену,
Клеймили нас — одним клеймом.
Поставят нам — единый дом.
Прикроют нас — одним холмом.
«The white willow was black, up on the hill, / crows puffed faintly; / in the blue, the very blue meadow / clouds wandered like sheep. / And intending to give yourself / you said, “I love you — ” / and grass grew all around, grass like an ocean, / and it was afternoon. / I was k...»
«The icon candle flickers, small, / the half-dark nursery is horribly quiet. / The frightened child / hides in the pink lace bed. What's that? The house spirit coughing? / He lives there, he's little, he's bald... / Agh! A vicious rat creeps slowly / from behind the wardrobe. It waves i...»
«At evening times above the restaurants / The sultry air’s harsh and stale. / The spirit of the spring-time pestilence / Reigns over drunken muffled wails. And further up in dusty alley ways, / Beyond the summer cottage sloth, / A baker’s shop sign glistens gaudily, / And chi...»
«A night, a street, a lamp, a drugstore, / A meaningless and dismal light. / A quarter century outpours — / It’s all the same. No chance of flight. You’d die and rise anew, begotten. / All would repeat as ever might: / The street, the icy rippled water, / The store, the lamp, the ...»