I've bad a name ever since birth,
Cherished my own opinion...
Believe me, friends, I’m most averse
To pass into oblivion.
It’s not that, when my body’s old,
I'll grudge the good earth having it.
My great love is inspiring life
In things that are inanimate.
The river bears a boat along
Of homeward-sailing fishermen.
You write the lyrics of a song -
The river comes to life again!
Dense woods? We’ll have the old ones at
Our modern wonders marvelling:
The forest shelter belts will start
To sing in sweeter harmony.
Shall soldiers not have rhyming quips?
They’re simple and applaudable,
They don’t need oiling, polishing,
They’re innocent and cordial.
No manuscript long laid to rest
In the bottom drawer of History,
Speed, lively verse, on the high wave-crest
Of Communism glistening!
A toast to youth, friends, let us raise,
To needs of top priority!
To cope with all the tasks they face
They need a poet, and poetry!
Всю жизнь имел я имя, отчество,
Растил сознание свое...
Поверь, товарищ, так не хочется
Переходить в небытие.
Не то чтоб возрастом преклонное
Мне тело жаль земле отдать, —
Предметы неодушевленные
Я так люблю одушевлять!
Несется лодка по течению,
В ней рыбаки плывут домой...
Напишешь песню-сочинение —
Река становится живой!
А темный лес? Заставим старого
Поверить в наши чудеса:
Певуче будут разговаривать
Полезащитные леса.
В частушке воину отказывать?
Она удобна и проста,
Ее не чистить и не смазывать, —
Она душевна и чиста.
Не рукописью в старом шкапике,
Не у Истории на дне —
Несись, моя живая капелька,
В коммунистической волне!
Друзья мои! Поднимем здравицу
За всё, что нужно молодым,
Что без стихов ни с чем не справиться
И что поэт необходим!
«More sluggish the snowy hive, / clearer the window’s crystal, / on a chair, a turquoise veil, / thrown there, carelessly, lies. A tissue, self-intoxicated, / as if it never felt winter’s / touch, experiencing summer’s, / by its own delicacy, caressed: and, if in icy diamonds / ...»
«Am I dreaming, or really and truly / It was I, who in bed so unruly, / Laughed so loud for the first time one night / Not aware I was only a mite? The days were too brief in duration, / And the longest seemed always too short — / My plans would be doomed to frustration, / Games unfini...»
«Eternity knows neither kith nor kin. / The pangs of birth and death she's never known, / While Time, her younger sister, unlike her / Has countless sons and daughters of her own. The centuries bring forth new life — and pass. / Each day, each year, each hour brings fruit untried; / Whil...»
«For four years on end / Immortal was I. / For four years on end / Light-hearted was I. / For I never knew I would die one fine day, / For I never knew I would not live for aye. You who know how to make life sweet and pleasant, / Like children, immortal — believe not in death; / Deat...»