Vladimir Mayakovsky
I Call

Like a heavyweight lifter,
I stumbled on, tired.
I called,
as if summoning people to vote,
or alarming
the villagers
that there’s a fire:
“Here!
Here it is!
Help me carry my load!”
When they saw
such a bulk sobbing and wailing —
through snow
and through mud
running,
in fright,
all the ladies
quickly
scurried away from me:
“That’s too much…
We just wanted a tango tonight.”
I can do it no more, —
And yet, I carry this burden.
I want to throw it away —
but I won’t,
that’s for certain!
I walked on, enduring the pain in my chest.
My ribcage was trembling under the stress. 

Translated by Andrey Kneller