Two suns cool down — God Almighty, put it to rest! —
One — in the skies, the other — inside my chest.
Two of these suns have — can I forgive myself? —
Two of these suns have been driving me mad, insane.
Both — cooling down now — no harm comes from this sunburst.
The one that’s hotter — will cool down first.
Два солнца стынут — о Господи, пощади!
Одно — на небе, другое — в моей груди.
Как эти солнца — прощу ли себе сама? —
Как эти солнца сводили меня с ума!
И оба стынут — не больно от их лучей!
И то остынет первым, что горячей.
«There are twins. For the earthborn / they are gods, Death and Sleep, / like brother and sister wondrously akin, / Death's the gloomier, Sleep is gentler. But there are two more twins: / there are no finer twins in the world, / and there's no fascination more fearsome / than he who's sur...»
«The telephone rang. / “Hello! Who’s there?” / “The Polar Bear.” / “What do you want?” / “I’m calling for the Elephant.” / “What does he want?” / “He wants a little Peanut brittle.” / “Peanut brittle!.. / And for whom?” “It’s for his little Elephan...»
«From the cycle LENIN I Lenin has the spirit of an Old Believer, / Intones his decrees like a priest, / And looks to the Pomorian Responses1 / For the source of all our grief. Now the land belongs to the peasants, / The Church is no longer a state serf. / Now a bright new word chimes for...»
«And while above Tsarskoye Selo1 / Akhmatova’s song and tears were pouring, / I, unwinding the skein of the sorceress, / Plodded through the desert like a sleepy corpse2, / There where impossibility lay dying: / An exhausted mummer Determined to break through. / And meanwhile in dark ca...»