1.
We're sharp and we are ready,
All the faster.
In each word, in each glance, in each gesture —
Two sisters.
Unique and refined our taste is
And our words,
We from the old Damascus
Are two swords.
Out, threshing-floor and bread's burden
And the ox!
We — are stretched out in heaven
Two arrows!
On the world's market without sin
We're alone.
We — from William Shakespeare
Are two poems.
1
Мы быстры и наготове,
Мы остры.
В каждом жесте, в каждом взгляде,
в каждом слове. —
Две сестры.
Своенравна наша ласка
И тонка,
Мы из старого Дамаска —
Два клинка.
Прочь, гумно и бремя хлеба,
И волы!
Мы — натянутые в небо
Две стрелы!
Мы одни на рынке мира
Без греха.
Мы — из Вильяма Шекспира
Два стиха.
«Life is a lie with enchanting anguish, / And that’s what makes it so powerful: / With its crude hand it writes / Lethal letters. Every time I close my eyes, I say, / “Let the heart be disturbed. / Life might be a lie, but even life, sometimes, / Garnishes its deception with pleasure...»
«For my sister Shura Ah, so many cats in the world, / You and I could never count them. / The heart dreams of sweet peas, / And a blue star is ringing. Whether awake, delirious, or just waking up, / I remember this from long ago— / A kitten was purring on the couch, / Looking at me wi...»
«Ah, hell, what a blizzard! / It’s hammering white nails into the roof. / But I’m not afraid — it’s in my fate / That my hapless heart nails me to you.»
«Snowy plain, white moon. / Our land is draped in a shroud. / Dressed in white, the birches cry in the woods. / Who perished here? Who died? Could it be me?»