Ocenite etot tekst:


---------------------------------------------------------------
     The Complete Poems of Stephen Crane
     Perevod: Anatolij Kudryavickij, Andrej Sergeev, Vladimir Britanishskij
     OCR: G.Kudryavcev
---------------------------------------------------------------

                  The Complete Poems of Stephen Crane

                                Stiven Krejn

                                   Polnoe
                                  sobranie
                               stihotvorenij

                                v perevodah
                           Anatoliya Kudryavickogo
                           Andreya Sergeeva
                           Vladimira Britanishskogo

       Stihotvoreniya iz sbornika "CHernye vsadniki" - 1895 -




                      Black riders came from the sea.
                      There was clang and clang of spear and shield,
                      And clash and clash of hoof and heel,
                      Wild shouts and the wave of hair
                      In the rush upon the wind:
                      Thus the ride of Sin.


                     CHernye vsadniki primchalis' s morya.
                     Stuchali, zveneli podkovy i shpory,
                     Bryacali, gremeli shchity i laty,
                     Dikie kriki i razvevayushchiesya volosy
                     Smeshalis' v vihre.
                     Tak nachalos' nashestvie Greha.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                          CHernye vsadniki s morya.
                          Lyazg, lyazg pik o shchity,
                          Stuk, stuk podkov i kopyt,
                          Dikie kriki i volny volos
                          Proneslis' po vetru:
                          Nabeg greha.

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva




                        Three little birds in a row
                        Sat musing.
                        A man passed near that place.
                        Then did the little birds nudge each other.

                        They said: "He thinks he can sing".
                        They threw back their heads to laugh.
                        With quaint countenances
                        They regarded him.
                        They were very curious,
                        Those three little birds in a row.


                 Tri malen'kie ptichki
                 Dremali, sidya ryadkom na vetke.
                 Nevdaleke prohodil chelovek.
                 Ptichki vstrepenulis'.

                 - Slyshite? On dumaet, chto sposoben pet'! -
                 Skazali oni drug drugu i zakatilis' smehom.
                 Potom oni dolgo smotreli emu vsled
                 S iskrennim sochuvstviem.
                 Oni byli tak zabavny,
                 |ti tri malen'kie ptichki!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     In the desert
                     I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
                     Who, squatting upon the ground,
                     Held his heart in his hands,
                     And ate of it.
                     I said: "Is it good, friend?"
                     "It is bitter-bitter," he answered;
                     "But I like it
                     Because it is bitter,
                     And because it is my heart."


                   V pustyne
                   YA vstretil cheloveka - nagogo, dikogo;
                   Sidya na kortochkah,
                   On derzhal v rukah svoe serdce
                   I gryz ego.
                   YA sprosil: - Vkusnoe li ono, drug?
                   - Ono gor'koe, gor'koe! - otvetil chelovek,
                   No mne nravitsya ego gryzt',
                   Potomu chto ono gor'koe
                   I potomu chto eto moe serdce.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                         V pustyne
                         Nekto golyj, zveropodobnyj
                         Sidel na kortochkah,
                         Derzhal v rukah svoe serdce
                         I el ego.
                         YA sprosil: - CHto, vkusnoe? -
                         On otvetil: - Gor'koe - gor'koe,
                         No mne nravitsya,
                         CHto ono gor'koe,
                         Potomu chto eto moe serdce.

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva




                      Yes, I have a thousand tongues,
                      And nine and ninety-nine lie.
                      Though I strive to use the one,
                      It will make no melody at my will,
                      But is dead in my mouth.


                      Da, tysyacha yazykov u menya vo rtu,
                      No devyat'sot devyanosto devyat' lgut.
                      YA nadeyalsya, chto poslednij
                      Pomozhet mne propet' to, chto ya hochu,
                      No on zastyl vo rtu kak mertvyj.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  Once there came a man
                  Who said:
                  "Range me all men of the world in rows."
                  And instandy
                  There was terrific clamor among the people
                  Against being ranged in rows.
                  There was a loud quarrel, world-wide.
                  It endured for ages;
                  And blood was shed
                  By those who would not stand in rows,
                  And by those who pined to stand in rows.
                  Eventually, the man went to death, weeping.
                  And those who stayed in bloody scuffle
                  Knew not great simplicity.


               Odnazhdy vyiskalsya chelovek,
               Skazavshij:
               - Postrojte mne vseh lyudej na Zemle v sherengi!
               Nemedlenno podnyalsya strashnyj shum -
               Lyudi ne zhelali stroit'sya v sherengi.
               Ves' mir ohvatila mezhdousobnaya vojna;
               Ona prodolzhalas' dolgie gody.
               Prolilas' krov' lyudej,
               Terpelivo stoyashchih v sherengah
               I ne soglasnyh v nih vstavat'.
               V konce koncov tot chelovek, stenavshij ot straha,
               Byl predan kazni.
               Lyudi, perezhivshie eti krovavye vremena,
               Izbavilis' ot byloj naivnosti.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

              YAvilsya nekogda chelovek,
              Skazavshij:
              "Postrojte mne vseh lyudej vsego mira v sherengi".
              I srazu
              Uzhasnyj ropot nachalsya v narode
              Protiv togo, chtoby stroit'sya v sherengi.
              I shumnaya svara poshla po celomu miru,
              I dlilas' ona vekami;
              I krov' prolivali
              Te, chto ne zhelali stoyat' v sherengah,
              I te, chto zhazhdali stoyat' v sherengah.
              I umer tot chelovek, i pered smert'yu plakal.
              A te, chto vystoyali v krovavoj shvatke,
              Tak i ne ponyali prostuyu istinu.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




               God fashioned the ship of the world carefully.
               With the infinite skill of an all-master
               Made He the hull and the sails,
               Held He the rudder
               Ready for adjustment.
               Erect stood He, scanning His work proudly.
               Then-at fateful time-a wrong called,
               And God turned, heeding.
               Lo, the ship, at this opportunity, slipped slyly,
               Making cunning noiseless travel down the ways.
               So that, forever rudderless, it went upon the seas
               Going ridiculous voyages,
               Making quaint progress,
               Turning as with serious purpose
               Before stupid winds.
               And there were many in the sky
               Who laughed at this thing.


                 Bog zabotlivo snaryadil korabl' mirozdaniya.
                 S prirozhdennoj snorovkoj mastera na vse ruki
                 Sladil on ostov i parusa,
                 Derzhal v rukah i rul',
                 Sobirayas' ego pridelat'.
                 Tut raspryamilsya Bog, s gordost'yu vziraya
                                           na svoyu rabotu.
                 Vdrug - v eto rokovoe mgnoven'e -
                                           ego po oshibke okliknuli
                 I on povernulsya uznat', v chem delo.
                 Korabl' zhe - smotrite-ka - uluchiv moment,
                 Myagko, besshumno soskol'znul v vodu.
                 S teh por, naveki lishennyj rulya,
                                           plyvet on po moryam,
                 Sleduya nepredskazuemym kursom,
                 Zahodya sluchajno v gavani progressa,
                 Podchinyayas' lyuboj prihoti shal'nyh vetrov,
                 Slovno golosu razuma.
                 I mnogie na nebesah
                 Poteshayutsya nad etim.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

               Gospod' postroil korabl' mirozdan'ya tshchatel'no.
               So vsej iskusnost'yu velichajshego mastera
               Sdelal On korpus i parusa,
               I rul' derzhal On v rukah,
               Sobirayas' ego priladit'.
               I stoyal On gordo, lyubuyas' svoej rabotoj.
               I tut, v rokovuyu minutu, chto-to sluchilos',
               Bog povernulsya vzglyanut', v chem delo,
               Korabl' uluchil moment i, lovkij, lukavyj,
               Tihon'ko-tihon'ko - shast'
                             - i skol'znul so stapelya,
               I, navek ostavshijsya bez rulya, poshel po moryam,
               Bluzhdaya prichudlivymi putyami,
               Sovershaya strannye evolyucii,
               Sleduya samym ser'eznym obrazom
               Durostyam vetrov.
               I byli mnogie na nebe,
               Smeyavshiesya nad etim.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                      Mystic shadow, bending near me,
                      Who art thou?
                      Whence come ye?
                      And-tell me-is it fair
                      Or is the truth bitter as eaten fire?
                      Tell me!
                      Fear not that I should quaver,
                      For I dare-I dare.
                      Then, tell me!


                 O tainstvennaya ten', nerazluchnaya so mnoyu,
                 Kto ty?
                 Otkuda ty yavilas'?
                 Skazhi mne, torzhestvuet li spravedlivost',
                 Ili tebe vedomo nechto,
                 zhgushchee tebya, kak raskalennyj ugol'?
                 Pover' mne svoyu tajnu!
                 Ne bojsya, ya ne orobeyu,
                 U menya dostanet muzhestva.
                 Itak, rasskazhi mne vse!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     I looked here;
                     I looked there;
                     Nowhere could I see my love.
                     And-this lime-
                     She was in my heart.
                     Truly, then, I have no complaint,
                     For though she be fair and fairer,
                     She is none so fair as she
                     In my heart.


               YA iskal vokrug,
               YA iskal vdali;
               Nigde ne mog ya najti sebe vozlyublennuyu.
               No vse eto vremya
               Lyubimaya byla v moem serdce.
               YA ni o chem ne sozhaleyu -
               Kak by prekrasna ni okazalas' moya izbrannica,
               Ej nikogda ne sravnit'sya s toyu,
               CHej obraz zhivet v moem serdce.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                         I stood upon a high place,
                         And saw, below, many devils
                         Running, leaping.
                         And carousing in sin.
                         One looked up, grinning,
                         And said: "Comrade! Brother!"


                           YA stoyal na vozvyshenii,
                           A vnizu bylo mnozhestvo chertej,
                           Begayushchih, skachushchih,
                           Upivayushchihsya Grehom.
                           Odin posmotrel vverh, usmehayas',
                           I skazal mne: - Tovarishch! Brat!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                      Should the wide world roll away,
                      Leaving black terror,
                      Limitless night,
                      Nor God, nor man, nor place to stand
                      Would be to me essential,
                      If thou and thy white arms were there,
                      And the fall to doom a long way.


                Kogda b ogromnyj shar zemnoj ukatilsya proch',
                Ostaviv posle sebya lish' chernyj uzhas,
                Besprosvetnuyu noch',
                Ni Bog, ni lyudi, ni mesto, gde ya okazhus', -
                Vse eto ne imelo by dlya menya znacheniya,
                Esli b ryadom ya videl tebya i tvoi belosnezhnye ruki,
                I prezhde chem ischeznut', my proshli by dolgij put'.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                In a lonely place,
                I encountered a sage
                Who sat, all still,
                Regarding a newspaper.
                He accosted me:
                "Sir, what is this?"
                Then I saw that I was greater,
                Aye, greater than this sage.
                I answered him at once:
                "Old, old man, it is the wisdom of the age."
                The sage looked upon me with admiration.


                V uedinennom meste
                YA nabrel na mudreca,
                Kotoryj spokojno sidel,
                Perelistyvaya gazetu.
                On sprosil menya:
                - O gospodin, chto eto takoe?
                Togda ya pochuvstvoval svoe prevoshodstvo,
                Da, prevoshodstvo nad etim mudrecom.
                YA totchas otvetil emu:
                - O staryj, staryj chelovek, zdes' pishut to,
                CHto v nash vek schitaetsya mudrost'yu.
                Mudrec posmotrel na menya s voshishcheniem.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                   V uedinennom meste
                   YA vstretil mudrogo muzha,
                   Kotoryj sidel v razdum'e,
                   Razglyadyvaya gazetu.
                   On obratilsya ko mne:
                   "Sudar', chto eto za veshch'?"
                   I ya uvidel, chto ya umnee,
                   Da, da, umnee etogo mudrogo muzha.
                   YA otvetil emu mgnovenno:
                   "Starik, eto razum nashego veka".
                   Mudrec posmotrel na menya s voshishchen'em.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                     "And the sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the
                      heads of the children, even unto the third and fourth
                      generation of them that hate me."

               Well, then, I hate Thee, unrighteous picture;
               Wicked image, I hate Thee;
               So, strike with Thy vengeance
               The heads of those little men
               Who come blindly.
               It will be a brave thing.


                                         I grehi otcov padut na golovy
                                         detej vplot' do tret'ego i
                                         chetvertogo kolena nenavidyashchih menya.

               Da, potomu ya nenavizhu tebya, nepravednyj kumir,
               Zlobnyj idol, ya nenavizhu tebya.
               Tak bej zhe, mstitel'nyj Bog,
               Po golovam mladencev,
               CHto yavlyayutsya na svet ne po svoej vole.
               |to ved' stol' doblestnoe deyanie!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  If there is a witness to my little life,
                  To my tiny throes and struggles,
                  He sees a fool;
                  And it is not fine for gods to menace fools.


                       Esli est' tam, naverhu, kto-to
                       Nablyudayushchij za moej nezametnoj zhizn'yu,
                       Za moimi malen'kimi gorestyami i skromnymi pobedami,
                       On vidit pred soboj glupca.
                       No bogam ne podobaet gnevat'sya na glupcov.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                      There was crimson clash of war.
                      Lands turned black and bare;
                      Women wept;
                      Babes ran, wondering.
                      There came one who understood not these things.
                      He said: "Why is this?"
                      Whereupon a million strove to answer him.
                      There was such intricate clamor of tongues,
                      That still the reason was not.


                        Gremel bagrovyj grom vojny.
                        Opustoshennaya zemlya pochernela,
                        ZHenshchiny plakali,
                        Deti metalis' v ispuge.
                        Vdrug ob®yavilsya chelovek,
                        Kotoryj ne mog postich' smysl proishodyashchego.
                        On sprosil: - Zachem vse eto?
                        Totchas milliony lyudej zahoteli emu otvetit'.
                        Podnyalsya nestrojnyj mnogogolosyj gvalt,
                        No otveta na etot vopros ne bylo.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                          Zvuchal bagryanyj gul vojny.
                          Zemlya chernela i chahla;
                          ZHenshchiny plakali;
                          Deti bezhali, oshelomlennye.
                          Odin chelovek ne videl, v chem zhe tut smysl.
                          On sprashival: "Radi chego?"
                          Zashumel million zhelavshih emu ob®yasnit'.
                          Takoj byl nechlenorazdel'nyj gvalt,
                          CHto smysla ne bylo slyshno.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                         "Tell brave deeds of war."

                         Then they recounted tales:
                         "There were stern stands
                         And bitter runs for glory."

                         Ah, I think there were braver deeds.


                     - Rasskazhite o geroizme na vojne.

                     I oni rasskazyvali skazki:
                     - Soldaty stojko uderzhivali pozicii
                     I shli ternistymi dorogami k slave.

                     Ah, ya dumayu, tam sovershalis'
                     Bolee geroicheskie postupki!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                          Charity, thou art a lie,
                          A toy of women,
                          A pleasure of certain men.
                          In the presence of justice,
                          Lo, the walls of the temple
                          Are visible
                          Through thy form of sudden shadows.

                           Miloserdie, ty - lozh',
                           Igrushka dlya zhenshchin,
                           Zabava dlya inyh muzhchin.
                           V prisutstvii Spravedlivosti - smotrite-ka
                           Steny tvoego hrama prozrachny,
                           I skvoz' nih vidna tvoya sushchnost' -
                           Igra tenej.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




              There were many who went in huddled procession,
              They knew not whither;
              But, at any rate, success or calamity
              Would attend all in equality.

              There was one who sought a new road.
              He went into direful thickets,
              And ultimately he died thus, alone;
              But they said he had courage.


                     Mnogo bylo lyudej, shagavshih tolpoyu.
                     Oni ne znali, kuda idut,
                     No chto by ih ni ozhidalo - uspeh ili neudacha -
                     |to stanovilos' ih obshchej sud'boj.

                     Byl odin chelovek, iskavshij novyj put'.
                     On zabrel v neprohodimye debri
                     I v konce koncov umer tam v odinochestve.
                     Ostal'nye priznali, chto on byl ne lishen muzhestva.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                  Bylo velikoe mnozhestvo dvigavshihsya tolpoyu,
                  Ne vedaya kuda;
                  No, kak by tam ni bylo, bedstvie ili pobedu
                  Oni podelyat na vseh.

                  Byl nekto odin, iskavshij novoj dorogi.
                  On zabrel v neveroyatnye debri,
                  I konchilos' tem, chto on tak i pogib, odin;
                  No, govoryat, on byl hrabr.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                   In Heaven,
                   Some little blades of grass
                   Stood before God.
                   "What did you do?"
                   Then all save one of the little blades
                   Began eagerly to relate
                   The merits of their lives.
                   This one stayed a small way behind,
                   Ashamed.
                   Presently, God said:
                   "And what did you do?"
                   The little blade answered: "Oh, my Lord,
                   Memory is bitter to me,
                   For, if I did good deeds,
                   I know not of them."
                   Then God, in all His splendor,
                   Arose from His throne.
                   "Oh, best little blade of grass!" He said.


                  Na nebesah
                  Predstali pered Bogom
                  Malen'kie travinki.
                  - CHto vy svershili v zhizni? - sprosil on.
                  I vse, krome odnoj,
                  S gotovnost'yu nachali perechislyat'
                  Svoi zaslugi.
                  Lish' odna travinka
                  Stoyala pozadi, pristyzhennaya.
                  Nakonec Bog sprosil ee:
                  - A ty chto svershila v zhizni?
                  - Gospodi, - otvetila malen'kaya travinka, -
                  YA ne v silah eto pripomnit'.
                  Esli ya i delala chto-to horoshee,
                  To ne vedala etogo.
                  Tut Bog podnyalsya s trona
                  Vo vsem bleske svoego velichiya.
                  - O dostojnejshaya iz vseh travinok! - voskliknul on.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                      Na Nebe
                      Malen'kie travinki
                      Predstali pred Bogom.
                      - CHto vy sdelali v zhizni?
                      I vse travinki, krome odnoj,
                      Nachali bojko rashvalivat'
                      Svoi dobrodeteli.
                      A odna stoyala poodal',
                      Smushchennaya.
                      I Bog sprosil ee:
                      - A ty chto sdelala v zhizni? -
                      - Gospodi, - otvechala travinka, -
                      Esli ya hot' kogda
                      I sdelala dobroe delo,
                      To teper' nichego ne pomnyu. -
                      I Bog vo vsej svoej slave,
                      Vosstav s prestola, skazal ej:
                      - O luchshaya iz travinok!

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva




                    A god in wrath
                    Was beating a man;
                    He cuffed him loudly
                    With thunderous blows
                    That rang and rolled over the earth.
                    All people came running.
                    The man screamed and struggled,
                    And bit madly at the feet of the god.
                    The people cried:
                    "Ah, what a wicked man!"
                    And-
                    "Ah, what a redoubtable god!"


                    Bog v gneve
                    Izbival cheloveka,
                    Nanosil emu
                    Oglushitel'nye, gromopodobnye udary;
                    Ves' shar zemnoj hodil hodunom.
                    Otovsyudu sbezhalis' lyudi.
                    CHelovek krichal, otbivalsya
                    I v isstuplenii kusal Boga za nogi.
                    Lyudi vosklicali:
                    - Ah, kakoj nehoroshij chelovek!
                    I dobavlyali:
                    - Ah, kakoj groznyj Bog!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                       A learned man came to me onge.
                       He said: "I know the way,-come."
                       And I was overjoyed at this.
                       Together we hastened.
                       Soon, too soon, were we
                       Where my eyes were useless,
                       And I knew not the ways of my feet.
                       I clung to the hand of my friend;
                       But at last he cried: "I am lost."

                   Odnazhdy prishel ko mne uchenyj chelovek.
                   On skazal: - YA znayu put'. Pojdem!
                   YA ochen' obradovalsya.
                   Ne teryaya vremeni, my otpravilis' v dorogu.
                   Skoro, ochen' skoro ochutilis' my tam,
                   Gde glaza moi nichego ne videli
                   I ya ne znal, kuda stupayu.
                   YA krepko derzhalsya za ruku moego druga,
                   No v konce koncov on vskrichal: - YA pogib!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                There was, before me,
                Mile upon mile
                Of snow, ice, burning sand.
                And yet I could look beyond all this,
                To a place of infinite beauty;
                And I could see the loveliness of her
                Who walked in the shade of the trees.
                When I gazed,
                All was lost
                But this place of beauty and her.
                When I gazed.
                And in my gazing, desired,
                Then came again
                Mile upon mile,
                Of snow, ice, burning sand.


                Predo mnoyu
                Na sotni mil'
                Prostiralis' snega, l'dy, raskalennye peski.
                No ya sumel zaglyanut' eshche dal'she -
                I otkrylas' mne tam pervozdannaya krasota;
                Zametil ya i prelest' toj,
                CHto progulivalas' v teni derev'ev.
                Kogda glyadel ya na eto -
                Vse vokrug merklo
                Pered krasotoyu teh mest i Ee krasotoyu.
                Kogda glyadel ya na eto,
                Ustremivshis' tuda dushoj, -
                Vnov' stali vidny mne
                Prostirayushchiesya na sotni mil'
                Snega, l'dy, raskalennye peski.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                    Predo mnoyu,
                    Milya za milej,
                    Byli snega i l'dy i zhguchij pesok.
                    No vzglyadom ya dosyagal iz etih predelov
                    Do beskonechno prekrasnyh mest;
                    I mog ya uvidet' ee, vo vsej krasote,
                    Gulyashchuyu pod sen'yu derev'ev.
                    Kogda ya glyadel,
                    Vse ischezalo,
                    Krome nee i etih prekrasnyh mest.
                    Kogda ya glyadel
                    I, zaglyadevshijsya, grezil.
                    A potom opyat' predo mnoyu,
                    Milya za milej,
                    Byli snega i l'dy i zhguchij pesok.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                        Once I saw mountains angry,
                        And ranged in battle-front.
                        Against them stood a little man;
                        Aye, he was no bigger than my finger.
                        I laughed, and spoke to one near me:
                        "Will he prevail?"
                        "Surely," replied this other;
                        "His grandfathers beat them many times."
                        Then did I see much virtue in grandfathers,
                        At least, for the little man
                        Who stood against the mountains.


                  Odnazhdy ya uvidel, kak rasserzhennye gory
                  Vystroilis' v boevom poryadke, -
                  Im brosil vyzov malen'kij chelovechek;
                  Pover'te, on byl rostom chut' li ne s moyu ladon'.
                  YA zasmeyalsya i sprosil soseda:
                  - Neuzhto on voz'met verh?
                  - Konechno, - otvetil tot, -
                  Ego predki pokoryali ih mnogo raz.
                  Togda ya ponyal, kak polezno imet' takih predkov;
                  Po krajnej mere, dlya malen'kogo cheloveka,
                  Kotoromu protivostoyat gory.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                Odnazhdy ya videl, kak gory gnevalis'
                I vystraivalis' v boevoj poryadok.
                Protiv nih stoyal malen'kij chelovechek;
                Ej-ej, on byl ne bol'she moego pal'ca.
                YA rassmeyalsya i skazal odnomu poblizosti:
                "Razve on odoleet?".
                "Razumeetsya, - vozrazil mne tot, -
                Ego dedy bivali ih ne edinozhdy".
                I ya uvidel, chto est'-taki doblest' v dedah, -
                Po krajnej mere, dlya malen'kogo chelovechka,
                Stoyashchego protiv ogromnyh gor.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo





                     Places among the stars,
                     Soft gardens near the sun,
                     Keer your distant beauty;
                     Shed no beams upon my weak heart.
                     Since she is here
                     In a place of blackness,
                     Not your golden days
                     Nor your silver nights
                     Can call me to you.
                     Since she is here
                     In a place of blackness,
                     Here I stay and wait.


                 Luzhajki sredi zvezd,
                 Tihie sady bliz Solnca,
                 Ne manite menya svoej dal'nej krasotoj,
                 Ne struite luchi na moe bezzashchitnoe serdce.
                 S teh por kak Ona zdes',
                 V etom sredotochii t'my,
                 Ne prel'shchaet menya
                 Ni vashe poludennoe zoloto,
                 Ni serebristoe siyan'e vashih nochej.
                 S teh por kak Ona zdes',
                 V etom sredotochii t'my,
                 Stoyu i ya zdes' v ozhidanii.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
                     Round and round they sped.
                     I was disturbed at this;
                     I accosted the man.
                     "It is futile," I said,
                     "You can never-"
                     "You lie," he cried,
                     And ran on.


               YA vstretil cheloveka, chto gnalsya za Gorizontom
               Tak i bezhal za nim vokrug sveta.
               Menya ohvatilo volnenie.
               YA obratilsya k nemu:
               - Poslushaj, - skazal ya, - eto pustaya zateya.
               Tebe nikogda ne udastsya...
               - Lzhesh'! - kriknul on
               I pobezhal dal'she.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                        CHelovek gnalsya za gorizontom,
                        Gorizont ot nego uskol'zal.
                        YA uvidel, vstrevozhilsya
                        I skazal cheloveku:
                        - |to nemyslimo,
                        Ty nikogda...
                        - Vresh'! - kriknul on
                        I prodolzhil pogonyu.

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva





                     Behold, the grave of a wicked man,
                     And near it, a stern spirit.

                     There came a drooping maid with violets,
                     But the spirit grasped her arm.
                     "No flowers for him," he said.
                     The maid wept:
                     "Ah, I loved him."
                     But the spirit, grim and frowning;
                     "No flowers for him."

                     Now, this is it -
                     If the spirit was just,
                     Why did the maid weep?


                       Vzglyani - vot mogila greshnika;
                       Ee sterezhet neumolimyj duh.

                       Pechal'naya deva podoshla k mogile s buketom fialok,
                       Odnako duh ostanovil ee ruku.
                       - Nikakih cvetov emu, - skazal duh.
                       Deva zaplakala:
                       - Ah! YA ego lyubila.
                       No duh, mrachnyj i nepreklonnyj, povtoril;
                       - Nikakih cvetov emu!

                       Teper' rassudi -
                       Esli duh postupil po spravedlivosti,
                       Pochemu zhe plakala deva?

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                   There was set before me a mighty hill,
                   And long days I climbed
                   Through regions of snow.
                   When I had before me the summit-view,
                   It seemed that my labor
                   Had been to see gardens
                   Lying at impossible distances.


                   Ogromnaya gora vozvyshalas' predo mnoyu,
                   Mnogo dnej ya vzbiralsya po sklonu ee,
                   Pokrytomu vechnymi snegami.
                   Kogda vzoshel ya na vershinu i oglyadelsya,
                   Okazalos', chto ya karabkalsya na goru lish' zatem,
                   CHtoby uvidet' prekrasnye sady,
                   Do kotoryh mne nikogda ne dojti.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     A youth in apparel that glittered
                     Went to walk in a grim forest.
                     There he met an assassin
                     Attired all in garb of old days;
                     He, scowling through the thickets,
                     And dagger poised quivering.
                     Rushed upon the youth.
                     "Sir," said this latter,
                     "I am enchanted, believe me,
                     To die, thus,
                     In this medieval fashion,
                     According to the best legends;

                     Ah, what joy!"
                     Then took he the wound, smiling,

                     And died, content.


                    YUnosha v bogatom, sverkayushchem odeyanii
                    Otpravilsya na progulku v dremuchij les.
                    Tam povstrechal on ubijcu,
                    Oblachennogo v srednevekovyj kostyum.
                    Zametiv za kustami yunoshu,
                    Ubijca rinulsya na nego
                    S zanesennym kinzhalom.
                    - Ser, - skazal yunosha, -
                    Pover'te, ya vsegda mechtal
                    Vstretit' smert' vot tak,
                    Na starinnyj lad,
                    Tochno v drevnej legende.
                    Ah, kak ya rad!
                    On s ulybkoj podstavil grud' pod udar kinzhala
                    I umer, udovletvorennyj.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                         "Truth," said a traveller,
                         "Is a rock, a mighty fortress;
                         Often have I been to it,
                         Even to its highest tower,
                         From whence the world looks black."

                         "Trurh," said a traveller,
                         "Is a breath, a wind,
                         A shadow, a phantom;
                         Long have I pursued it,
                         But never have I touched
                         The hem of its garment."

                         And I believed the second traveller;
                         For truth was to me
                         A breath, a wind,
                         A shadow, a phantom,
                         And never had I touched
                         The hem of its garment.


                       - Pravda, - skazal strannik, -
                       Pohozha na gornyj pik, na krepostnuyu bashnyu.
                       YA chasto byval tam,
                       Na samoj vershine,
                       Otkuda ves' mir kazhetsya chernym.

                       - Pravda, - skazal drugoj strannik, -
                       Pohozha na vzdoh, na legkij veterok,
                       Neulovimuyu ten' ili viden'e.
                       Dolgo ya gnalsya za neyu,
                       No ni razu ne kosnulsya
                       Dazhe kraya ee odeyaniya.

                       I poveril ya vtoromu stranniku,
                       Potomu chto Pravda byla dlya menya
                       Vzdohom, legkim veterkom,
                       Neulovimoj ten'yu, viden'em,
                       I ni razu ne kosnulsya ya
                       Dazhe kraya ee odeyaniya.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                 Behold, from the land of the farther suns
                 I returned.
                 And I was in a reptile-swarming place,
                 Peopled, otherwise, with grimaces,
                 Shrouded above in black impenelrableness.
                 I shrank, loathing.
                 Sick with it.
                 And I said to him:
                 "What is this?"
                 He made answer slowly:
                 "Spirit, this is a world;
                 This was your home."


                   Vot vernulsya ya iz strany dalekih solnc
                   I okazalsya v takom meste,
                   Gde kishmya kisheli gady.
                   Oni shipeli, polzali, izvivalis',
                   Pytayas' preodolet' nezrimuyu pregradu.
                   YA otpryanul v otvrashchenii -
                   Zrelishche bylo toshnotvornoe.
                   Potom ya sprosil:
                   - Gospodi, chto eto takoe?
                   Posledoval netoroplivyj otvet:
                   - O dusha, eto mir;
                   Zdes' ty zhila,

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  Supposing that I should have the courage
                  To let a red sword of virtue
                  Plunge into my heart,
                  Letting to the weeds of the ground
                  My sinful blood,
                  What can you offer me?
                  A gardened castle?
                  A flowery kingdom?

                  What? A hope?
                  Then hence with your red sword of virtue.


              Ty polagaesh', chto ya dolzhen, nabravshis' muzhestva,
              Dopustit', chtoby alyj mech Dobrodeteli
              Vonzilsya v moe serdce,
              Prolivaya na travu
              Moyu greshnuyu krov'.
              CHto zhe ty predlozhish' mne za eto?
              Dvorec, utopayushchij v zeleni?
              Bogatoe korolevstvo?

              CHto? Nadezhdu?
              I s nej, konechno, tvoj alyj mech Dobrodeteli?

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                    Many workmen
                    Built a huge ball of masonry
                    Upon a mountain-top.
                    Then they went to the valley below,
                    And turned to behold their work.
                    "It is grand," they said;
                    They loved the thing.

                    Of a sudden, it moved:
                    It came upon them swiftly;
                    It crushed them all to blood.
                    But some had opportunity to squeal.


            Artel' rabochih
            Soorudila ogromnyj kamennyj shar
            Na vershine gory.
            Potom truzheniki spustilis' v dolinu
            I, obernuvshis', stali lyubovat'sya delom ruk svoih.
            - |to grandiozno, - govorili oni.
            Im nravilos' ih tvorenie.

            Vdrug shar kachnulsya i pokatilsya vniz;
            On mgnovenno nastig lyudej
            I razdavil ih vseh.
            Nekotorye, pravda, uspeli vskriknut'.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo


                       Mnogie kamenshchiki
                       Slozhili ogromnyj kirpichnyj shar
                       Na vershine gory.
                       Zatem oni spustilis' v dolinu
                       I obozreli svoe tvorenie.
                       - Velichestvenno, - skazali oni;
                       SHar im nravilsya.

                       I vdrug on pokachnulsya
                       I pokatilsya na nih
                       I mgnovenno vseh razdavil.
                       No nekotorye uspeli vzvizgnut'.

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva




                       Two or three angels
                       Came near to the earth.
                       They saw a fat church.
                       Little black streams of people
                       Came and went in continually.
                       And the angels were puzzled
                       To know why the people went thus,
                       And why they stayed so long within.


                  Dva ili tri angela
                  Proletali nizko nad zemlej.
                  Oni uvideli roskoshnyj hram;
                  K nemu so vseh storon
                  Uzkimi temnymi ruchejkami stekalis' lyudi
                  I ischezali vnutri.
                  Angely ne mogli ponyat',
                  Pochemu vse lyudi idut v odno i to zhe mesto
                  I ostayutsya tam tak dolgo.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     There was One I met upon the road
                     Who looked at me with kind eyes.
                     He said: "Show me of your wares."
                     And I did,
                     Holding forth one.
                     He said: "It is a sin."
                     Then I held forth another.
                     He said: "It is a sin."
                     Then I held forth another.
                     He said: "It is a sin."
                     And so to the end.
                     Always He said:"It is a sin."
                     At last, I cried out:
                     "But I have none other."
                     He looked at me
                     With kinder eyes.
                     "Poor soul," He said.


                  Vo vremya stranstvij ya vstretil cheloveka.
                  On posmotrel na menya uchastlivo i skazal:
                  - Pokazhi, nad chem ty trudish'sya.
                  YA dostal iz meshka
                  Odno iz moih izdelij.
                  CHelovek skazal: - |to greh.
                  Togda ya izvlek drugoe.
                  CHelovek skazal: - I eto greh.
                  YA pokazal emu eshche odno.
                  On skazal: - |to tozhe greh.
                  I tak do samogo konca
                  On vse vremya povtoryal: - |to greh.
                  Nakonec ya vskrichal:
                  - No u menya bol'she nichego net!
                  On posmotrel na menya
                  S angel'skoj dobrotoj
                  I proiznes: - Bednaya dusha!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                          I stood upon a highway,
                          And, behold, there came
                          Many strange pedlers.
                          To me each one made gestures,
                          Holding forth little images, saying;
                          "This my pattern of God.
                          Now this is the God I prefer."

                          But I said: "Hence!
                          Leave me with mine own,
                          And take you yours away;
                          I can't buy of your patterns of Cod,
                          The little gods you may rightly prefer."


                  YA stoyal na prigorke,
                  I stolpilis' vokrug menya
                  Strannogo vida brodyachie torgovcy.
                  Kazhdyj podaval mne znaki,
                  Protyagival malen'kij obrazok
                  I govoril: - Vot izobrazhenie moego Boga.
                  |to Bog, kotorogo predpochitayu ya.

                  Togda ya kriknul im: - Proch'!
                  Uberite vashi obrazki,
                  Ostav'te mne moego sobstvennogo Boga.
                  YA ne mogu pokupat' izobrazheniya chuzhih bogov,
                  Pust' dazhe vy iskrenne v nih verite.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                    A man saw a ball of gold in the sky,
                    He climbed for it,
                    And eventually he achieved it -
                    It was clay.

                    Now this is the strange part:
                    When the man went to the earth
                    And looked again,
                    Lo, there was the ball of gold.
                    Now this is the strange part:
                    It was a ball of gold.
                    Aye, by the heavens, it was a ball of gold.


                     CHelovek uvidel v nebe zolotoj shar.
                     On stal vzbirat'sya na nebo
                     I nakonec dobralsya do shara.
                     Tot okazalsya glinyanym.

                     No vot chto stranno:
                     Kogda chelovek spustilsya na zemlyu
                     I snova posmotrel vverh -
                     SHar opyat' byl zolotym.
                     O chudo! |to byl zolotoj shar.
                     Klyanus' nebesami!
                     |to byl zolotoj shar.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                      CHelovek uvidal v nebe zolotoj shar;
                      On polez za nim
                      I v konce koncov dobralsya k nemu -
                      SHar byl glinyanyj.

                      I vot chto stranno:
                      Kogda chelovek vernulsya na zemlyu
                      I opyat' posmotrel v nebo,
                      Tam byl zolotoj shar.
                      I vot chto stranno:
                      |to byl zolotoj shar.
                      Klyanus' nebom, eto byl zolotoj shar.

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva





                       I met a seer.
                       He held in his hands
                       The book of wisdom.
                       "Sir," I addressed him,
                       "Let me read."
                       "Child-" he began.
                       "Sir," I said,
                       "Think not that I am a child,
                       For already I know much
                       Of that which you hold.
                       Aye, much."

                       He smiled.
                       Then he opened the book
                       And held it before me.-
                       Strange that I should have grown so suddenly blind.


                    YA vstretil proroka.
                    V rukah on derzhal
                    Knigu mudrosti.
                    - O gospodin, - obratilsya ya k nemu,
                    Pozvol' mne zaglyanut' v nee.
                    - Ditya... - nachal on.
                    - O mudrec, - perebil ya ego, -
                    Ne dumaj, chto ya rebenok, -
                    YA ved' mnogoe uzhe znayu
                    Iz togo, chto zdes' napisano.
                    Da, mnogoe!

                    On zasmeyalsya,
                    Potom raskryl knigu
                    Pered moimi glazami.
                    Udivitel'naya veshch': ya srazu oslep.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                      YA vstretil proroka.
                      On derzhal v rukah
                      Knigu mudrosti.
                      - Gospodin, - poprosil ya, -
                      Pozvol' pochitat'.
                      - Ditya, - nachal on.
                      - Gospodin, - perebil ya, -
                      Ne dumaj, chto ya ditya,
                      Ibo ya uzhe znayu mnogo
                      Iz togo, chto ty derzhish';
                      Da, mnogo.

                      On ulybnulsya
                      I on otkryl svoyu knigu
                      I pokazal mne.
                      Stranno, chto ya tak vnezapno oslep.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                    On the horizon the peaks assembled;
                    And as I looked,
                    The march of the mountains began.
                    As they marched, they sang:
                    "Aye! We come! We come!"


                       Na gorizonte sgrudilis' skaly.
                       Stoilo mne vzglyanut' tuda -
                       Gory poshli v nastuplenie.
                       Priblizhayas', oni peli:
                       - Smotri! My idem! My idem!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                      Na gorizonte gory gruppirovalis';
                      I poka ya glyadel,
                      |ti giganty dvinulis' v nastuplen'e.
                      Dvigayas', oni peli:
                      "Da! My pridem! My pridem!".

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva





                         The ocean said to me once:
                         "Look!
                         Yonder on the shore
                         Is a woman, weeping.
                         I have watched her.
                         Go you and tell her this,-
                         Her lover I have laid
                         In cool green hall.
                         There is wealth of golden sand
                         And pillars, coral-red;
                         Two white fish stand guard at his bier.

                         "Tell her this
                         And more,-
                         That the king of the seas
                         Weeps too, old, helpless man.
                         The bustling fates
                         Heap his hands with corpses
                         Until he stands like a child
                         With surplus of toys."


                         Okean skazal mne odnazhdy:
                         - Smotri!
                         Von tam, na beregu,
                         Rydaet zhenshchina.
                         YA vse glyazhu na nee...
                         Pojdi i skazhi ej vot chto:
                         Ee vozlyublennogo ulozhil ya
                         V moih prohladnyh zelenyh chertogah
                         Na lozhe iz zolotogo peska,
                         Mezhdu krasnyh korallovyh kolonn;
                         Dve belye ryby stoyat na strazhe u izgolov'ya.

                         Skazhi ej eto
                         I dobav' eshche, chto car' morskoj.
                         Dryahlyj, bespomoshchnyj starec,
                         Plachet tozhe.
                         Neterpelivyj Rok
                         Slozhil emu na ruki stol'ko mertvyh tel,
                         CHto on teper' napominaet rebenka,
                         Stoyashchego s grudoj igrushek.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                The livid lightnings flashed in the clouds;
                The leaden thunders crashed.
                A worshipper raised his arm.
                "Hearken! Hearken! The voice of God!"

                "Not so," said a man.
                "The voice of God whispers in the heart
                So softly
                That the soul pauses,
                Making no noise,
                And strives for these melodies,
                Distant, sighing, like faintest breath,
                And all the being is still to hear."


                  Ognennye niti molnij sverkali sredi tuch,
                  Razdavalsya olovyannyj grohot groma.
                  Bogomolec vozdel ruki:
                  - Vnimajte! Vnimajte! Vot on, golos Boga!

                  - Nepravda, - skazal chelovek, -
                  Golos Boga zvuchit v nashih serdcah nezhnym shepotom;
                  On nastol'ko tih,
                  CHto dusha zamiraet, prislushivayas',
                  I zhadno lovit melodichnye zvuki,
                  Dalekie, ele slyshnye, pohozhie na legkie vzdohi;
                  V takie minuty my zastyvaem,
                  Vsecelo obrativshis' v sluh.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     And you love me?

                     I love you.

                     You are, then, cold coward.

                     Aye; but, beloved,
                     When I strive to come to you,
                     Man's opinions, a thousand thickets,
                     My interwoven existence,
                     My life,
                     Caught in the stubble of the world
                     Like a tender veil,-
                     This stays me.
                     No strange move can I make
                     Without noise of tearing.
                     I dare not.

                     If love loves,
                     There is no world
                     Nor word.
                     All is lost
                     Save thought of love
                     And place to dream.
                     You love me?

                     I love you.
                     You are, then, cold coward.
                     Aye; but, beloved -


                - I ty lyubish' menya?

                - YA lyublyu tebya.

                - Togda ty prosto trus.

                - Da, no poslushaj, lyubimaya,
                Kogda ya stremlyus' k tebe,
                Lyudskie peresudy, beschislennye terniya,
                Neustojchivost' moego polozheniya,
                ZHizn' moya,
                Opletennaya nezrimymi putami,
                Slovno pojmannaya v set', -
                Vse eto ostanavlivaet menya.
                Ni odnogo nevernogo shaga nel'zya mne sdelat'
                Inache vozniknet nevoobrazimyj skandal.
                YA ne mogu reshit'sya.

                - Kogda lyubish',
                Ne sushchestvuet dlya tebya ni mir,
                Ni lyudskaya molva;
                Ne sushchestvuet nichego,
                Krome samoj lyubvi
                I myslej o nej.
                Ty lyubish' menya?

                - YA lyublyu tebya.

                - Togda ty prosto trus.

                - Da, no poslushaj, lyubimaya...

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                   Love walked alone.
                   The rocks cut her tender feet,
                   And the brambles tore her fair limbs.
                   There came a companion to her,
                   But, alas, he was no help,
                   For his name was Heart's Pain.


                   Lyubov' hodila po svetu odna.
                   Ostrye kamni ranili ee nezhnye stupni,
                   SHipy carapali ee prekrasnoe telo.
                   Potom u nee poyavilsya sputnik,
                   No uvy, on nichem ne mog ej pomoch' -
                   Ved' imya ego bylo Stradanie.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  I walked in a desert.
                  And I cried:
                  "Ah, God, take me from this place!"
                  A voice said: "It is no desert."
                  I cried: "Well, but -
                  The sand, the heat, the vacant horizon."
                  A voice said: "It is no desert."


                     YA brel po beskrajnej pustyne.
                     I vozopil ya:
                     - Bozhe, vyvedi menya otsyuda!
                     Golos otvetil: - |to ne pustynya.
                     YA vskrichal: - No posmotri zhe -
                     Pesok, zhara, golyj gorizont...
                     Golos povtoril: - |to ne pustynya.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                YA bluzhdal v pustyne.
                I voskliknul:
                "Gospodi, voz'mi menya otsyuda!"
                Golos promolvil: "|to ne pustynya".
                YA voskliknul:
                "Da, no -
                |tot pesok, etot znoj, etot pustoj gorizont".
                Golos promolvil: "|to ne pustynya".

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo





                    There came whisperings in the winds:
                    "Good-bye! "Good-bye!
                    Little voices called in the darkness:
                    "Good-bye! "Good-bye!
                    Then I stretched forth my arms.
                    "No- No-"
                    There came whisperings in the wind:
                    "Good-bye! "Good-bye!
                    Little voices called in the darkness:
                    "Good-bye! "Good-bye!


                        Do menya donessya shepot vetra:
                        - Proshchaj! Proshchaj!
                        Tihie golosa povtoryali vo t'me:
                        - Proshchaj! Proshchaj!
                        YA proster pred soboyu ruki.
                        YA voskliknul: - Net! Net!
                        Do menya donessya shepot vetra:
                        - Proshchaj! Proshchaj!
                        Tihie golosa povtoryali vo t'me:
                        - Proshchaj! Proshchaj!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                   I was in the darkness;
                   I could not see my words
                   Nor the wishes of my heart.
                   Then suddenly there was a great light

                   "Let me into the darkness again."

                    YA prebyval vo t'me;
                    YA byl nesposoben obdumyvat' moi slova
                    I ponimat' ustremleniya moego serdca.
                    Potom vdrug zazhegsya oslepitel'nyj svet.

                    - Vernite menya opyat' vo t'mu!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                    YA prebyval vo t'me;
                    YA ne videl ni moih slov,
                    Ni zhelanij moego serdca.
                    Zatem vnezapno yavilsya velikij svet...

                    "Verni menya obratno vo t'mu".

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo





                 Tradition, thou art for suckling children.
                 Thou art the enlivening milk for babes;
                 Bot no meat for men is in thee.
                 Then -
                 But, alas, we all are babes.


                     Tradicii, vy - dlya grudnyh detej;
                     Vy - moloko dlya mladencev,
                     No ne pishcha dlya vzroslyh lyudej.
                     Poetomu...
                     No uvy, vse my - mladency.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                       Tradiciya, ty dlya grudnyh detej,
                       Ty zhivitel'noe moloko dlya mladencev,
                       No uzh nikak ne myaso dlya muzhchin.
                       Tak, stalo byt' -
                       No, k sozhalen'yu, my vse mladency.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo





                     Many red devils ran from my heart
                     And out upon the page.
                     They were so tiny
                     The pen could mash them.
                     And many struggled in the ink.
                     It was strange
                     To write in this red muck
                     Of things from my heart.


                 Mnozhestvo krasnyh d'yavolov
                 Vyplesnulos' na stranicu iz moego serdca.
                 Oni byli takimi kroshechnymi,
                 CHto ya mog razdavit' ih perom.
                 Eshche mnogie barahtalis' v chernil'nice.
                 Stranno bylo
                 Pisat' etim krasnym mesivom,
                 Okrashennym krov'yu moego serdca...

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                   Krasnye chertiki prygali iz moego serdca
                   Pryamo na stranicu.
                   Takie kroshechnye,
                   CHto pero moglo by ih razmozzhit'.
                   I prodolzhali borot'sya v kaple chernil.
                   Stranno bylo
                   |toj merzostnoj krasnoj zhizhej
                   Izlivat' sokrovennosti serdca.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                     "Think as I think," said a man,
                     "Or you are abominably wicked,
                     You are a toad."

                     And after I had thought of it,
                     I said: "I will, then, be a toad".


                  - Dumaj tak zhe, kak ya, - skazal chelovek,
                  Inache ty merzkij nechestivec,
                  Otvratitel'naya zhaba.

                  Porazmysliv, ya otvetil:
                  - V takom sluchae predpochitayu byt' zhaboj.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                   "Dumaj, kak dumayu ya, - skazal chelovek, -
                   A inache ty gnusnaya tvar';
                   Ty zhaba".

                   Podumavshi nemnogo, ya skazal:
                   "Pust' uzh ya budu zhaba".

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                       Once there was a man, -
                       Oh, so wise!
                       In all drink
                       He detected the bitter,
                       And in all touch
                       He found the sting.
                       At last he cried thus:
                       "There is nothing, -
                       No life,
                       No joy,
                       No pain,-
                       There is nothing save opinion,
                       And opinion be damned."


                      ZHil odnazhdy chelovek -
                      Ax, kakoj mudrec!
                      Iz vseh napitkov
                      On predpochital samyj gor'kij,
                      Iz vseh prikosnovenij -
                      Ukol zhala.
                      V konce koncov on vskrichal:
                      - Nichego net -
                      Ni zhizni,
                      Ni radosti,
                      Ni boli, -
                      Nichego net, krome moih oshchushchenij,
                      Bud' oni proklyaty!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                        ZHil-byl odin chelovek -
                        Oh, do chego zhe mudryj!
                        V kazhdom napitke
                        On obnaruzhival gorech',
                        V kazhdom prikosnovenii
                        Videl ozhog.
                        V konce koncov on voskliknul:
                        "Net nichego -
                        Ni zhizni,
                        Ni radosti,
                        Ni stradan'ya, -
                        Est' tol'ko mnenie,
                        A mnenie pust' katitsya k chertu".

                                                  Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                      I stood musing in a black world,
                      Not knowing where to direct my feel.
                      And I saw the quick stream of men
                      Pouring ceaselessly,
                      Filled with eager faces,
                      A torrent of desire.
                      I called to them:
                      "Where do you go? What do you see?"
                      A thousand voices called to me.
                      A thousand fingers pointed.
                      "Look! Look! There!"

                      I know not of it.
                      But, lo! in the far shy shone a radiance
                      Ineffable, divine, -
                      A vision painted upon a pall;
                      And sometimes was,
                      And sometimes it was not.
                      I hesitated.
                      Then from the stream
                      Came roaring voices,
                      Impatient:
                      "Look! Look! There!"

                      So again I saw,
                      And leaped, unhesilant,
                      And struggled and fumed
                      With outspread clutching fingers.
                      The hard hills tore my flesh;
                      The ways bit my feet.
                      At last I looked again.
                      No radiance in the far sky,
                      Ineffable, divine,
                      No vision painted upon a pall;
                      And always my eyes ached for the light.
                      Then I cried in despair:
                      "I see nothing! Oh, where do I go?"
                      The torrent turned again its faces:
                      "Look! Look! There!"

                      And at the blindness of my spirit
                      They screamed:
                      "Fool! Fool! Fool!"


                Ob®yatyj mrakom etogo mira,
                YA stoyal, razmyshlyaya, kuda napravit' put'.
                I uvidel ya, chto mimo menya
                Neskonchaemym potokom dvigayutsya lyudi,
                Vozbuzhdennye, s goryashchimi glazami;
                Ih podgonyaet neterpenie.
                YA sprosil:
                - Kuda vy toropites'? CHto vy takoe uvideli?
                Tysyachi golosov otvetili mne.
                Tysyachi perstov ukazali:
                - Smotri! - Smotri! Vot ono!

                YA ne ponyal, o chem oni govoryat.
                I vdrug na gorizonte nebo ozarilos' siyaniem,
                Nevidannym, bozhestvennym,
                Rascvetivshim svod nebesnogo shatra
                Izumitel'nymi kraskami;
                Ono to poyavlyalos',
                To ischezalo.
                YA stoyal v nereshitel'nosti.
                I snova iz tolpy doneslis' do menya
                Vzvolnovannye golosa:
                - Smotri! Smotri! Vot ono!

                YA opyat' vzglyanul -
                I, otbrosiv kolebaniya, rinulsya vsled za
                                               lyud'mi;
                V yarosti ya prodiralsya skvoz' tolpu
                S pomoshch'yu kulakov.
                Na dorogah ya sbil nogi,
                V gorah izranil telo.
                Kogda v konce koncov ya vnov' posmotrel na
                                               nebo,
                Uzhe ne ozaryalos' ono siyaniem,
                Nevidannym, bozhestvennym;
                Mrachen byl svod nebesnogo shatra.
                No glaza moi zhazhdali sveta.
                Togda vskrichal ya v otchayan'i:
                - YA nichego ne vizhu! O, kuda zhe ya idu?
                Lyudi v tolpe snova pokazyvali mne:
                - Smotri! Smotri! Vot ono!

                I poteshalis' oni
                Nad slepotoyu moej dushi:
                - Glupec! Glupec! Glupec!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                      You say you are holy,
                      And that
                      Because I have not seen you sin.
                      Aye, but there are those
                      Who see you sin, my friend.


                     Ty govorish' mne. chto ty pravednik,
                     Znaya, chto ya ne videl,
                     Kak ty greshish'.
                     Da, eto tak,
                     Zato drugie videli, drug moj.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     A man went before a strange god, -
                     The god of many men, sadly wise.
                     And the deity thundered loudly,
                     Fat with rage, and puffing:
                     "Kneel, mortal, and cringe
                     And grovel and do homage
                     To my particularly sublime majesty."

                     The man fled.

                     Then the man went to another god,-
                     The god of his inner thoughts.
                     And this one looked at him
                     With soft eyes
                     Lit with infinite comprehension,
                     And said: "My poor child!"


                  CHelovek predstal pered strannym Bogom -
                  Bogom mnogih lyudej, mudrym i potomu pechal'nym.
                  Bozhestvo totchas progrohotalo gromovym golosom,
                  Razduvayas' i pyhtya ot yarosti:
                  - Na koleni, smertnyj! Povergnis' vo prah!
                  Presmykayas', dolzhen ty yavit' pochtenie
                  Pred moej vysochajshej osoboj!

                  CHelovek pustilsya nautek.

                  Potom prishel on k drugomu Bogu -
                  Bogu ego sobstvennyh myslej.
                  |tot Bog posmotrel na nego,
                  I uvlazhnivshiesya glaza ego
                  Zasvetilis' dobrotoyu i ponimaniem.
                  On skazal: - Moe bednoe ditya!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                   Why do you strive for greatness, fool?
                   Go pluck a bough and wear it.
                   It is as sufficing.

                   My Lord, there are certain barbarians
                   Who tilt their noses
                   As if the stars were flowers,
                   And thy servant is lost among their shoe-buckles.
                   Fain would I have mine eyes even with their eyes.

                   Fool, go pluck a bough and wear it.


                  - Zachem ty stremish'sya k velichiyu, glupec?
                  Otlomi vetku i uvenchaj sebya.
                  Vot i vse, chto tebe nuzhno.

                  - Gospodi, vokrug - nastoyashchie varvary,
                  Oni zadirayut nosy k zvezdam,
                  Slovno k cvetam na nebe,
                  I rab tvoj zateryalsya sredi pryazhek ih bashmakov.
                  Po spravedlivosti ya dolzhen byt' ne nizhe ih.

                  - Glupec, otlomi vetku i uvenchaj sebya.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                                     I

               Blustering god,
               Stamping across the sky
               With loud swagger,
               I fear you not.
               No, though from your highest heaven
               You plunge your spear at my heart,
               I fear you not.
               No, not if the blow
               Is as the lightning blasting tree,
               I fear you not, puffing braggart.

                                     II

               If thou can see into my heart
               That I fear thee not,
               Thou wilt see why I fear thee not,
               And why it is right.
               So threaten not, thou, with thy bloody spears,
               Else thy sublime ears shall hear curses.

                                    III

               Withal, there is one whom I fear;
               I fear to see grief upon that face.
               Perchance, friend, he is not your god;
               If so, spit upon him.
               By it you will do no profanity.
               But I -
               Ah, sooner would I die
               Than see tears in those eyes of my soul.


                                     I

             Kichlivyj Bog,
             Oglushayushchij nebesa
             Svoej gromoglasnoj pohval'boj,
             YA ne boyus' tebya.
             Pust' s nebesnyh vysot
             Celish' ty kop'em v moe serdce,
             YA ne boyus' tebya.
             Dazhe esli udar tvoj
             Podoben molnii, szhigayushchej derev'ya,
             YA ne boyus' tebya, napyshchennyj hvastun,

                                     II

             Esli b ty smog prochest' v moem serdce,
             CHto ya ne boyus' tebya,
             Ty ponyal by, pochemu net vo mne straha
             I pochemu eto pravil'no.
             Tak ne grozi zhe mne svoimi okrovavlennymi kop'yami,
             Inache vysochajshie ushi tvoi uslyshat proklyatiya.

                                    III

             No est' vse zhe nekto, pred kem ya trepeshchu,
             Na ch'em lice boyus' uvidet' pechal'.
             Vozmozhno, drug, eto ne tvoe bozhestvo;
             Esli tak, plyun' na nego,
             Ty etim ne svershish' svyatotatstva.
             No ya...
             Ah, ya skoree umru,
             CHem uvizhu slezy na glazah moej dushi!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                 "It was wrong to do this," said the angel
                 "You should live like a flower,
                 Holding malice like a puppy,
                 Waging war like a lambkin."

                 "Not so," quoth the man
                 Who had no fear of spirits;
                 "It is only wrong for angels
                 Who can live like the flowers,
                 Holding malice like the puppies,
                 Waging war like the lambkins."


               - Ty sovershil durnoj postupok, - skazal angel,
               Ty dolzhen zhit' kak cvetochek,
               Byt' dobrym, kak shchenochek
               I krotkim, kak yagnenochek.

               - Ty ne prav, - otvetstvoval chelovek,
               Ne ispytyvavshij straha pered nebozhitelyami, -
               |to durnoj postupok lish' dlya angelov,
               Kotorym nichto ne meshaet zhit' kak cvetochki,
               Byt' dobrymi, kak shchenyata,
               I krotkimi, kak yagnyata.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




           A man toiled on a burning road,
           Never resting.
           Once he saw a fat, stupid ass
           Grinning at him from a green place.
           The man cried out in rage:
           "Ah! do not deride me, fool!
           I know you -
           All day stuffing your belly,
           Burying your heart
           In grass and tender sprouts:
           It will not suffice you."
           But the ass only grinned at him from the green place.


                    CHelovek brel po raskalennoj doroge,
                    Ne davaya sebe otdyha.
                    Kak-to raz na zelenoj luzhajke
                    Zametil on zhirnogo glupogo osla,
                    Tarashchivshegosya na nego i skalivshego zuby.
                    CHelovek vskrichal v yarosti:
                    - |j, ne smejsya nado mnoj, ostolop!
                    YA znayu tebya -
                    Ty celymi dnyami nabivaesh' sebe bryuho.
                    Vse, chto tebe nuzhno v zhizni, -
                    |to trava i molodye pobegi;
                    Skol'ko b ty ni s®el - tebe vse malo!
                    No osel lish' tarashchilsya na nego,
                    Stoya na zelenoj luzhajke.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                A man feared that he might find an assassin,
                Another that he might find a victim.
                One was more wise than the other.


                  Odin chelovek boyalsya povstrechat' ubiicu,
                  Drugoj - najti ubitogo
                  Pervyj byl umnee

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                         With eye and with gesture
                         You say you are holy.
                         I say you lie;
                         For I did see you
                         Draw away your coals
                         From the sin upon the hands
                         Of a little child.
                         Liar!


                       I vzglyadom, i zhestami
                       Ty pokazyvaesh', chto ty svyatoj.
                       No ya govoryu: - Ty lzhesh'! -
                       Ved' ya videl,
                       Kak ty sbrasyval s plech
                       Tyagoty svoih grehov
                       Na ruki malen'kogo rebenka.
                       Lzhec!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                       The sage lectured brilliantly.
                       Before him, two images:
                       "Now this one is a devil,
                       And this one is me."
                       He turned away.
                       Then a cunning pupil
                       Changed the positions.
                       Turned the sage again:
                       "Now this one is a devil,
                       And this one is me."
                       The pupils sat, all grinning,
                       And rejoiced in the game.
                       But the sage was a sage.


                 Mudrec prepodaval blestyashche.
                 On postavil pred soboyu dvuh idolov:
                 - Predpolozhim, chto eto - d'yavol,
                 A eto - ya...
                 Tut on otvernulsya,
                 A prokazlivyj uchenik
                 Pomenyal idolov mestami.
                 Mudrec prodolzhal:
                 - Tak vot, predpolozhim, chto eto - d'yavol,
                 A eto - ya.
                 Ucheniki edva sderzhivali smeh,
                 Teshas' zabavoj.
                 No mudrec vse zhe ostalsya mudrecom.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                         Mudrec vrazumlyal iskusno.
                         Vot pered nim dva risunka:
                         "Pust' eto budet d'yavol,
                         A eto pust' budu ya".
                         I on otvernulsya.
                         Postrel-uchenik, radi shutki,
                         Pomenyal mestami risunki.
                         Mudrec povtoril, ne glyadya:
                         "Pust' eto budet d'yavol,
                         A eto pust' budu ya".
                         Ucheniki uhmylyalis',
                         Razbiral ih bezumnyj smeh.
                         No mudrec taki byl mudrec.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                        Walking in the sky,
                        A man in strange black garb
                        Encountered a radiant form.
                        Then his steps were eager;
                        Bowed he devoutly.
                        "My Lord," said he.
                        But the spirit knew him not.


                     Bluzhdaya po nebu,
                     CHelovek v strannom chernom odeyanii
                     Uzrel izluchavshuyu siyan'e figuru.
                     Zataiv dyhanie, podoshel on blizhe,
                     Otvesil pochtitel'nyj poklon.
                     - O moj Gospod'! - skazal on.
                     No tot ne znal ego.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                    Upon the road of my life,
                    Passed me many fair creatures,
                    Clothed all in white, and radiant.
                    To one, finally, I made speech:
                    "Who art thou?"
                    But she, like the others,
                    Kept cowled her face,
                    And answered in haste, anxiously:
                    "I am Good Deed, forsooth;
                    You have often seen me."
                    "Not uncowled," I made reply.
                    And with rash and strong hand,
                    Though she resisted,
                    I drew away the veil
                    And gazed at the features of Vanity.
                    She, shamefaced, went on;
                    And after I had mused a time,
                    I said of myself:
                    "Fool!"


                   Na doroge moej zhizni
                   CHasto vstrechalis' mne prelestnye sozdaniya,
                   Odetye vo vse beloe, izluchavshie siyan'e.
                   Kak-to raz sprosil ya odnu:
                   - Kto ty?
                   No ona, kak i drugie do nee,
                   Ne otkinula s lica vual'.
                   V volnenii progovorila ona toroplivo:
                   - YA - Dobroe Deyanie, pover' mne.
                   Ty chasto menya videl.
                   - Da, s zakrytym licom, - otvetil ya.
                   Bystrym, uverennym dvizheniem
                   Otstraniv ee ruki,
                   YA sorval s nee vual' -
                   I otkrylsya mne lik tshcheslaviya.
                   Pokrasnev ot styda, ona poshla dal'she.
                   Nemnogo porazmysliv,
                   YA skazal sebe:
                   "Glupec!"

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                                     I

                    There was a man and a woman
                    Who sinned.
                    Then did the man heap the punishment
                    All upon the head of her,
                    And went away gayly.

                                     II

                    There was a man and a woman
                    Who sinned.
                    And the man stood with her.
                    As upon her head, so upon his,
                    Fell blow and blow,
                    And all people screaming: "Fool!"
                    He was a brave heart.

                                    III

                    He was a brave heart.
                    Would you speak with him, friend?
                    Well, he is dead,
                    And there went your opportunity.
                    Let it be your grief
                    That he is dead
                    And your opportunity gone;
                    For, in that, you were a coward.


                                     I

                    Muzhchina i zhenshchina
                    ZHili vo grehe.
                    Rasplachivat'sya za eto
                    On predostavil ej,
                    A sam s legkim serdcem udalilsya proch'.

                                     II

                    Muzhchina i zhenshchina
                    ZHili vo grehe.
                    No etot muzhchina ne ostavil zhenshchinu,
                    Kogda nad golovoj ee, kak i nad ego golovoj,
                    Razrazilas' groza,
                    I vse lyudi nasmehalis' nad nim: "Vot glupec!"
                    On byl smelyj chelovek.

                                    III

                    On byl smelyj chelovek.
                    Hochesh' pogovorit' s nim, drug?
                    Da, ty prav, on umer
                    I eto uzhe nevozmozhno.
                    Penyaj na sebya,
                    CHto on umer
                    I ty upustil etu vozmozhnost', -
                    Ved' sam ty postupil kak trus.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                 There was a man who lived a life of fire.
                 Even upon the fabric of time,
                 Where purple becomes orange
                 And orange purple,
                 This life glowed,
                 A dire red slain, indelible;
                 Yet when he was dead,
                 He saw that he had not lived.


              ZHil na svete chelovek,
              CH'ya zhizn' byla podobna fakelu v nochi.
              Dazhe na palitre vremeni,
              Gde bagryanec tak nezametno perehodit v zheltiznu,
              A zheltizna - v bagryanec,
              Ego zhizn' plamenela
              Ognenno-krasnym nesmyvaemym pyatnom.
              No umiraya,
              On osoznal, chto tolkom i ne zhil.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                 There was a great cathedral.
                 To solemn song,
                 A white procession
                 Moved toward the altar.
                 The chief man there
                 Was erect, and bore himself proudly.
                 Yet some could see him cringe,
                 As in a place of danger,
                 Throwing frightened glances into the air,
                 A-start at threatening faces of the past.


               To byl velikij hram.
               Pod zvuki torzhestvennyh pesnopenij
               Belosnezhnaya processiya
               Dvigalas' k altaryu.
               CHelovek, povelevavshij vsemi,
               Byl staten, derzhalsya gordo.
               No koe-kto videl, kak on ezhilsya ot straha,
               Slovno vblizi tailas' opasnost',
               I brosal ispugannye vzglyady v prostranstvo,
               Gde emu chudilis' ugrozhayushchie lica iz Proshlogo.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                Friend, your white beard sweeps the ground.
                Why do you stand, expectant?
                Do you hope to see it
                In one of your withered days?
                With your old eyes
                Do you hope to see
                The triumphal march of justice?
                Do not wait, friend!
                Take your white beard
                And your old eyes
                To more tender lands.


                  Drug, tvoya sedaya boroda kasaetsya zemli.
                  Pochemu stoish' ty v ozhidanii?
                  O chem mechtaesh' ty
                  Na sklone dnej tvoih?
                  Neuzheli nadeesh'sya
                  Uvidet' svoimi starymi glazami
                  Pobednyj marsh Spravedlivosti?
                  Ne zhdi etogo, drug!
                  Otpravlyajsya v put', sedoborodyj,
                  I ty uvidish' svoimi starymi glazami
                  Inoj, luchshij mir.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                    Drug, tvoya belaya boroda uzhe do zemli.
                    CHto zh ty stoish', upovayushchij?
                    Uzh ne nadeesh'sya li uzret' eto v®yave
                    V svoi vethie dni?
                    Uzh ne nadeesh'sya li uzret'
                    Svoimi dryahlymi glazami
                    Triumfal'nyj marsh spravedlivosti?
                    Drug ne zhdi.
                    Unosi svoyu beluyu borodu
                    I svoi dryahlye glaza
                    V bolee blagopriyatnye strany.

                                                  Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                   Once, I knew a fine song,
                   - It is true, believe me, -
                   It was all of birds,
                   And I held them in a basket;
                   When I opened the wicket,
                   Heavens! they all flew away.
                   I cried: "Come back little thoughts!"
                   But they only laughed.
                   They flew on
                   Until they were as sand
                   Thrown between me and the sky.


               Kogda-to ya znal chudesnuyu pesnyu,
               - Pover'te mne, eto pravda -
               Ee peli pticy,
               Kotoryh derzhal ya v korzinke.
               Kogda odnazhdy otkryl ya dvercu,
               Bozhe! oni vse uleteli proch'.
               YA vskrichal: - Vernites', moi malen'kie mysli!
               No v otvet uslyshal tol'ko smeh.
               Oni vzmyvali vse vyshe,
               Poka ne stali kazat'sya mne gorst'yu peska,
               Broshennoj mezhdu mnoyu i nebesami.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  If I should cast off this tattered coal,
                  And go free into the mighty sky;
                  If I should find nothing there
                  But a vast blue,
                  Echoless, ignorant, -
                  What then?


                 Esli ya sbroshu s sebya etu ponoshennuyu odezhdu
                 I svobodnym ustremlyus' v nebesnye prostory;
                 Esli ya ne najdu tam nichego,
                 Krome neobozrimoj golubizny,
                 Bezmolvnoj, neodushevlennoj, -
                 CHto togda?

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     God lay dead in Heaven;
                     Angels sang the hymn of the end;
                     Purple winds went moaning,
                     Their wings drip-dripping
                     With blood
                     That fell upon the earth.
                     It, groaning thing,
                     Turned black and sank.
                     Then from the far caverns
                     Of dead sins
                     Came monsters, livid with desire.
                     They fought,
                     Wrangled over the world,
                     A morsel.
                     But of all sadness this was sad, -
                     A woman's arms tried to shield
                     The head of a sleeping man
                     From the jaws of the final beast.


               Bog lezhal mertvym na nebesah;
               Angely peli gimn proshchaniya;
               Bagryanye vihri, zazyvaya,
               Pronosilis' po nebu,
               Iz kryl'ev ih sochilas' krov'
               I kapala nazem'.
               Pochernevshaya, topkaya zemlya
               Izdavala stony.
               I vot iz glubokih peshcher,
               Gde pokoilis' grehi,
               Vosstali zlobnye chudishcha s goryashchimi glazami.
               Oni razbrelis' po svetu,
               Pozhiraya vseh, kto popadalsya navstrechu.
               Vse eto bylo uzhasno,
               No strashnee vsego bylo videt',
               Kak zhenshchina obhvatila rukami
               Golovu spyashchego muzhchiny,
               Pytayas' spasti ego ot pasti adskogo chudovishcha.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                      A spirit sped
                      Through spaces of night;
                      And as he sped, he called:
                      "God! God!"
                      He went through valleys
                      Of black death-slime,
                      Ever calling:
                      "God! God!"
                      Their echoes
                      From crevice and cavern
                      Mocked him:
                      "God! God! God!"
                      Fleetly into the plains of space
                      He went, ever calling:
                      "God! God!"
                      Eventually, then, he screamed,
                      Mad in denial:
                      "Ah, there is no God!"
                      A swift hand,
                      A sword from the sky,
                      Smote him,
                      And he was dead.


                 Dusha mchalas'
                 Skvoz' nochnoj mrak;
                 Na letu ona zvala:
                 - Bozhe! Bozhe!
                 Proletala ona nad chernymi
                 Dolinami Smerti,
                 Vse vremya vzyvaya:
                 - Bozhe! Bozhe!
                 |ho, obitayushchee v rasshchelinah skal,
                 Peredraznivalo ee
                 Na vse lady:
                 - Bozhe! Bozhe! Bozhe!
                 Vot vosparila dusha v nebesnye vysi,
                 Vse vremya vzyvaya:
                 - Bozhe! Bozhe!
                 Nakonec, obezumev ot takogo prenebrezheniya,
                 Ona v isstuplenii voskliknula:
                 - Ah, Boga, navernoe, net!
                 Totchas bystraya ruka,
                 Metnuv molniyu s nebes,
                 Pronzila ee -
                 I ispepelila.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

       Stihotvoreniya ne voshedshie v sborniki




                                 "LEGENDS"

                                     I

            A man builded a bugle for the storms to blow.
            The focussed winds hurled him afar.
            He said that the instrument was a failure.

                                     II

            When the suicide arrived at the sky, the people
                there asked him: "Why?"
            He replied: "Because no one admired me."

                                    III

            A man said: "Thou tree!"
            The tree answered with the same scorn: "Thoy man!
            Thoy art greater ehan I only in thy possibilities."

                                     IV

            A warrior stood upon a peak and defied the stars.
            A little magpie, happening there, desired the
               soldier's plume, and so plucked it.

                                     V

            The wind that waves the blossoms sang, sang, sang
               from age to age.
            The flowers were made curious by this joy.
            "Oh, wind," they said, "why sing you at your
              labour, while we, pink beneficiaries, sing
              not, but idle, idle, idle from age to age?"

                                 "LEGENDY"

                                     I

              CHelovek postroil bol'shuyu trubu,
                chtob v nee trubil veter.
              SHkval sorval ee i umchal daleko-daleko.
              CHelovek skazal, chto vo vsem vinovata truba.

                                     II

              Kogda samoubijca popal na nebo,
              Tam ego sprosili: - Pochemu ty pokonchil s soboj?
              - Potomu chto nikto mnoyu ne voshishchalsya, -
                                                 otvetil on.

                                    III

              CHelovek skazal: - Ty - derevo!
              Derevo otvetilo tak zhe prezritel'no:
              - Ty - chelovek!
              Tvoe prevoshodstvo nado mnoj lish' v tom,
              CHto u tebya bol'she vozmozhnostej.

                                     IV

              Voitel' stoyal na holme i vyzyval na boj zvezdy.
              Malen'kaya ptichka, proletavshaya mimo,
              Prel'stilas' sultanom na ego shlyape -
                                              i sorvala ego.

                                     V

              Veter, nezhno ovevavshij cvety,
              Neskonchaemo pel, pel, pel...
              Cvety udivlyalis' svoemu schast'yu.
              - O veter, - sprosili oni, -
                           pochemu ty poesh', kogda trudish'sya,
              A my, rozovye balovni sud'by, ne poem
              I vsyu zhizn' neskonchaemo lenimsya,
                                   lenimsya, lenimsya.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                When a people reach the top of a hill
                Then does God lean toward them,
                Shortens tongues, lengthens arms.
                A vision of their dead comes to the weak.
                The moon shall not be loo old
                Before the new battalions rise
                - Blue battalions -
                The moon shall not be too old
                When the children of change shall fall
                Before the new battalions
                - The blue battalions -

                Mistakes and virtues will be trampled deep
                A church a thief shall fall together
                A sword will come at the bidding of the eyeless,
                The God-led, turning only to beckon.
                Swinging a creed like a censer
                At the head of the new battalions
                - Blue battalions -
                March the tools of nature's impulse
                Men born of wrong, men born of right
                Men of the new battalions
                - The blue battalions -

                The clang of swords is Thy wisdom
                The wounded make gestures like Thy Son's
                The feet of mad horses is one part,
                - Aye, another is the hand of a mother
                on the brow of a son.
                Then swift as they charge through a shadow.
                The men of the new battalions
                - Blue battalions -
                God lead them high. God lead them far
                Lead them far, lead them high
                These new battalions
                - The blue battalions -


                Kogda lyudi dostignut vershiny holma,
                Bog nagnetsya k nim,
                Svyazhet yazyki, razvyazhet ruki.
                Teni pogibshih tovarishchej yavyatsya slabym.
                Luna ne uspeet sostarit'sya,
                Kak podnimutsya novye batal'ony
                                - Golubye batal'ony -
                Luna ne uspeet sostarit'sya,
                Kak deti peremen padut,
                Srazhennye novymi batal'onami
                                - Golubymi batal'onami -

                Poroki i dobrodeteli budut vtoptany v zemlyu,
                Pravednik i zhulik pogibnut vmeste,
                Mech obrushitsya po veleniyu slepcov,
                Napravlyaemyj Bogom, poslushnyj kazhdomu
                                ego kivku.
                Raskachivayushchijsya, kak kadilo, styag
                Vo glave novyh batal'onov
                                - Golubyh batal'onov -
                Bryacajte oruzhiem, tesh'te svoi dikie
                                instinkty,
                Lyudi, porozhdennye zlom, lyudi, porozhdennye
                                dobrom,
                Lyudi iz novyh batal'onov
                                - Golubyh batal'onov -
                Lyazg mechej - vot Tvoya mudrost',
                Ranenye korchatsya kak Tvoj raspyatyj syn;
                Skachka beshenyh loshadej - odna storona medali,
                Drugaya zhe - ruka materi na chele syna.
                Stremitel'ny atakuyushchie v sumerkah
                Lyudi iz novyh batal'onov
                                - Golubyh batal'onov -
                Bog vedet ih vvys'. Bog vedet ih vdal'.
                Vedet vdal', vedet vvys'
                |ti novye batal'ony
                                - Golubye batal'ony -

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                Rumbling, buzzing, turning, whirling Wheels,
                Dizzy Wheels!
                Wheels!


                      Skripyashchie, gremyashchie, vertyashchiesya,
                      krutyashchiesya Kolesa,
                      Beshenye Kolesa!
                      Kolesa!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

       Stihotvoreniya iz sbornika "Vojna Dobraya" - 1899 -




                   Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
                   Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
                   And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
                   Do not weep.
                   War is kind.

                   Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
                   Little souls who thirst for fight,
                   These men were born to drill and die.
                   The unexplained glory flies above them,
                   Great is the Battle-God, great, and his Kingdom -
                   A field where a thousand corpses lie.

                   Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
                   Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
                   Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
                   Do not weep.
                   War is kind.

                   Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
                   Eagle with crest of red and gold,
                   These men were born to drill and die.
                   Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
                   Make plain to them the excellence of killing
                   And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

                   Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
                   On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
                   Do not weep.
                   War is kind.


                   He plach', devushka, vojna ved' dobraya.
                   Esli tvoj vozlyublennyj
                   neistovo vskinul k nebu ruki
                   I kon' ego v ispuge pomchalsya dal'she bez sedoka,
                   Ne plach'.
                   Vojna dobraya.

                   Gromkie, treskuchie polkovye barabany;
                   Nichtozhnye dushi, polnye boevogo zadora,
                   |ti lyudi rozhdeny,

                   CHtoby shagat' stroem i umirat';
                   Neob®yasnimyj oreol slavy okruzhaet ih.
                   Velik Bog Vojny, i vladeniya ego -
                   Polya, gde lezhat tysyachi trupov.

                   Ne plach', malysh, vojna ved' dobraya.
                   Esli tvoj otec upal na zheltyj pesok v okope,
                   Razodral na grudi mundir i, zadohnuvshis', umer,
                   Ne plach'.
                   Vojna dobraya.

                   YArkoe stremitel'noe polkovoe znamya,
                   Orel s zolotisto-krasnym grebeshkom.
                   |ti lyudi rozhdeny,
                   chtoby shagat' stroem i umirat'.
                   Vtolkuj im, chto ubijstvo - eto dobrodetel',
                   Skazhi im o sladosti krovoprolitiya,
                   O polyah, gde lezhat tysyachi trupov.

                   Mat', ch'e serdce, slovno na tonkoj nitochke,
                   Podvesheno k pyshnomu belomu savanu syna,
                   Ne plach'.
                   Vojna dobraya.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                 Ne plach', deva, ibo vojna dobraya.
                 Iz-za togo, chto tvoj milyj bezumno vzmahnul
                                  rukami
                 I napugannyj kon' ponessya dal'she odin,
                 Ne plach'.
                    Vojna dobraya.

                 Hriplye gromkie barabany vojny,
                 Melkie dushi, stremyashchiesya k bor'be,
                 |ti lyudi sozdany dlya mushtry i smerti.
                 Neob®yasnimaya slava vitaet nad nimi,
                 Velik bog vojny i ego carstvo -
                 Pole i v pole tysyacha mertvyh.

                 Ne plach', ditya, ibo vojna dobraya.
                 Iz-za togo, chto otec tvoj ruhnul v zheltyh
                                  transheyah,
                 Rval na sebe mundir, zahlebyvalsya i umer,
                 Ne plach'.
                    Vojna dobraya.

                 Bystroe yarkoe znamya polka,
                 Orel s zolotym i alym grebnem,
                 |ti lyudi sozdany dlya mushtry i smerti.
                 Obuchi ih iskusstvu smertoubijstva,
                 Pokazhi im velichie slavnyh poboishch
                 I pole i v pole tysyachu mertvyh.

                 Mat', skorbnoe serdce tvoe smirenno sklonilos'
                 Nad siyayushchim svetlym savanom syna,
                 Ne plach'.
                    Vojna dobraya.

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva




                     "What says the sea, little shell?
                     What says the sea?
                     Long has our brother been silent to us,
                     Kept his message for the ships,
                     Awkward ships, stupid ships."

                     "The sea bids you mourn, oh, pines,
                     Sing low in the moonlight.
                     He sends tale of the land of doom,
                     Of place where endless falls
                     A rain of women's tears,
                     And men in grey robes -
                     Men in grey robes -
                     Chant the unknown pain."

                     "What says the sea, little shell?
                     What says the sea?
                     Long has our brother been silent to us,
                     Kept his message for the ships,
                     Puny ships, silly ships."

                     "The sea bids you teach, oh, pines,
                     Sing low in the moonlight,
                     Teach the gold of patience,
                     Cry gospel of gentle hands,
                     Cry a brotherhood of hearts.
                     The sea bids you teach, oh, pines."

                     "And where is the reward, little shell?
                     What says the sea?
                     Long has our brother been silent to us,
                     Kept his message for the ships,
                     Puny ships, silly ships."

                     "No word says the sea, oh, pines,
                     No word says the sea.
                     Long will your brother be silent to you,
                     Keep his message for the ships,
                     Oh, puny pines, silly pines."


                  - CHto govorit okean, malen'kaya rakushka?
                  CHto govorit okean?
                  Dolgo ne otvechal nam brat nash,
                  Hranil on svoi vesti dlya korablej,
                  Neuklyuzhih korablej, tyazhelyh korablej.

                  - Okean molit vas plakat', o sosny,
                  Tiho pet' pri lunnom svete.
                  V govore ego slyshny legendy zemli obrechennyh,
                  Strany, gde bespreryvno
                  Padaet dozhd' zhenskih slez
                  I lyudi v seryh odezhdah -
                  Lyudi v seryh odezhdah -
                  Krichat ot nevedomoj boli.

                  - CHto govorit okean, malen'kaya rakushka?
                  CHto govorit okean?
                  Dolgo ne otvechal nam brat nash,
                  Hranil on svoi vesti dlya korablej,
                  Nichtozhnyh korablej, glupyh korablej.

                  - Okean molit vas propovedovat', o sosny,
                  Tiho pet' pri lunnom svete,
                  Vozveshchat' zolotuyu zapoved' terpeniya,
                  Vozdyhat' o teple dobryh ruk,
                  Oplakivat' bratstvo serdec.
                  Oksan molit vas propovedovat', o sosny.

                  - A gde zhe nagrada, malen'kaya rakushka?
                  CHto govorit okean?
                  Dolgo ne otvechal nam brat nash,
                  Hranil on svoi vesti dlya korablej,
                  Nichtozhnyh korablej, glupyh korablej.

                  - Ni slova ne govorit okean, o sosny,
                  Ni slova ne govorit okean.
                  Dolgo ne otvetit vam brat vash,
                  Hranit on svoi vesti dlya korablej,
                  O nichtozhnye sosny, glupye sosny.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  To the maiden
                  The sea was blue meadow
                  Alive with little froth-people
                  Singing.

                  To the sailor, wrecked,
                  The sea was dead grey walls
                  Superlative in vacancy
                  Upon which nevertheless at fateful time
                  Was written
                  The grim hatred of nature.


                 Dlya devy
                 More bylo golubym lugom,
                 Na kotorom rezvilis' i peli
                 Malen'kie rusalochki.

                 Dlya moryaka posle korablekrusheniya
                 More bylo mertvenno-seroj stenoyu,
                 Neobozrimoj, sovershenno pustynnoj,
                 Na kotoroj, odnako, v eti rokovye minuty
                 YAsno chitalis' znaki,
                 Vydavavshie besposhchadnuyu nenavist' prirody.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                     Dlya devushki
                     More bylo golubaya dolina,
                     Gde zhili kroshechnye gnomy peny
                     I peli.

                     Dlya moryaka s pogibshego sudna
                     More bylo mertvye serye steny,
                     Gigantskie pustye,
                     Na kotoryh, odnako, v rokovuyu minutu
                     Byla napisana
                     Mrachnaya nenavist' Natury.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                 A little ink more or less!
                 It surely can't matter?
                 Even the sky and the opulent sea,
                 The plains and the hills, aloof,
                 Hear the uproar of all these books.
                 But it is only a little ink more or less.

                 What?
                 You define me God with these trinkets?
                 Can my misery meal on an ordered walking
                 Of surpliced numbskulls?
                 And a fanfare of lights?
                 Or even upon the measured pulpitings
                 Of the familiar false and true?
                 Is this God?
                 Where, then, is hell?
                 Show me some bastard mushroom
                 Sprung from a pollution of blood.
                 It is better.

                 Where is God?


               CHut' bol'she ili chut' men'she chernil -
               Tak li eto vazhno?
               Dazhe nebo i beskrajnie morya,
               Ravniny i dal'nie gory
               Slyshat shum, podnyatyj mnogochislennymi knigami.
               No eto vsego lish' chernila -
               chut' bol'she ili chut' men'she.

               CHto?
               Ty hochesh' opisat' Boga pri pomoshchi etoj erundy?
               Utolit li moyu duhovnuyu zhazhdu
               CHinnoe shestvie oblachennyh v stihari bolvanov?
               Ili fanfary sveta?
               Ili dazhe osmotritel'naya propoved'
               Navyazshih na zubah pravdy i lzhi?
               Razve vo vsem etom - Bog?
               Gde zhe togda d'yavol?
               Izobrazi luchshe yadovitye griby,
               Vspoennye zarazhennoj krov'yu.
               |to vyjdet udachnee.

               Gde zhe Bog?

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                "Have you ever made a just man?"
                "Oh, I have made three," answered God,
                "But two of them are dead
                And the third -
                Listen! Listen!
                And you will hear the third of his defeat."

                 - Sluchalos' li Tebe sotvorit' pravednika?
                 - O, ya sozdal troih, - otvetil Bog, -
                 No dvoe iz nih umerli,
                 A tretij...
                 Prislushajtes' - i vy uslyshite,
                 Kak tretij oplakivaet svoyu gor'kuyu uchast'.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                  "Sotvoril li ty kogda-nibud' pravednika?"
                  "YA sotvoril troih, - otvetil Gospod', -
                  No dvoe uspeli s teh por umeret',
                  A tretij -
                  Prislushajsya! Vot!
                  Slyshish'? |to on padaet zamertvo!"

                                                  Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




             I explain the silvered passing of a ship at night,
             The sweep of each sad lost wave
             The dwindling boom of the steel thing's striving
             The little cry of a man to a man
             A shadow falling across the greyer night
             And the sinking of the small star.

             Then the waste, the far waste of waters
             And the soft lashing of black waves
             For long and in loneliness.

             Remember, thou, o ship of love
             Thou leaves! a far waste of waters
             And the soft lashing of black waves
             For long and in loneliness.


            YA hochu zapechatlet' serebristyj sled korablya v nochi,
            Vsplesk kazhdoj pechal'noj ugasayushchej volny,
            Zamirayushchij shum vody pod stal'nym kilem,
            Otryvistye vykriki lyudej,
            Ten', padayushchuyu v nochnoj mrak,
            I zvezdu, tonushchuyu v puchine.

            Potom - lish' prostory, beskrajnie prostory vod
            I ti? li govor chernyh voln,
            Na dolgie vremena, v odinochestve.

            Pomni zhe, o ty, korabl' lyubvi,
            Ty pokidaesh' beskrajnie prostory vod
            I tihij govor chernyh voln
            Na dolgie vremena, v odinochestve.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                    YA ob®yasnyayu, zachem serebristyj korabl'
                                                  plyvet v nochi,
                    I udar kazhdoj grustnoj otvergnutoj im volny,
                    Gasnushchij gul ustremlennogo vdal'
                                                  stal'nogo korpusa,
                    Dalekuyu pereklichku matrosov,
                    Novuyu ten' na temno-seroj nochi,
                    I ugasan'e upavshej zvezdy.
                    Posle - pustynya, bol'shaya pustynya vod
                    I myagkij plesk chernyh voln
                    Nadolgo i v odinochestve.

                    Zapomni zhe, o korabl' lyubvi,
                    Ty pokidaesh' etu bol'shuyu pustynyu vod
                    I myagkij plesk chernyh voln
                    Nadolgo i v odinochestve.

                                                          Per. Andreya Sergeeva




                "I have heard the sunset song of the birches
                A white melody in the silence
                I have seen a quarrel of the pines.
                At nightfall
                The little grasses have rushed by me
                With the wind men.
                These things have I lived," quoth the maniac,
                "Possessing only eyes and ears.
                But, you-
                You don green spectacles before you look at roses."


                     - YA slyshal pesn' berez na zakate,
                     Beluyu melodiyu, zvuchavshuyu v tishine;
                     YA videl, kak ssorilis' mezhdu soboyu sosny;
                     V sumerkah
                     Proneslis' mimo menya travinki,
                     Vlekomye tem, ch'e imya - veter.
                     Vse eto ya oshchushchal,
                     Obladaya lish' zreniem i sluhom, -
                                          skazal bezumec, -
                     A ty...
                     Ty nadevaesh' zelenye ochki pered tem
                                          kak vzglyanut' na rozy,

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  Fast rode the knight
                  With spurs, hot and reeking
                  Ever waving an eager sword.
                  "To save my lady!"
                  Fast rode the khight
                  And leaped from saddle to war.
                  Men of steel flickered and gleamed
                  Like riot of silver lights
                  And the gold of the knight's good banner
                  Still waved on a castle wall.

                  A horse
                  Blowing, staggering, bloody thing
                  Forgotten at foot of castle wall.
                  A horse
                  Dead at foot of castle wall.


               Vo ves' opor skakal rycar',
               Prishporivaya ustalogo, vzmylennogo konya,
               Neterpelivo razmahivaya mechom.
               - Spasti gospozhu moego serdca!
               Vo ves' opor skakal rycar',
               I, vyprygnuv iz sedla, vstupil v boj.
               Zakovannye v stal' lyudi metalis' i otbivalis',
               Rozhdaya bezumnuyu plyasku serebristyh otbleskov.
               No zoloto slavnogo rycarskogo styaga
               Vse zhe zablestelo nad krepostnymi stenami.

               Kon',
               Izmuchennyj, zadyhayushchijsya, istekayushchij krov'yu,
               Zabyt pod krepostnoj stenoj.
               Kon'
               Gibnet pod kreposnoj stenoj.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




              Forth went the candid man
              And spoke freely to the wind-
              When he looked about him he was in far strange
                                                        country.

              Forth went the candid man
              And spoke freely to the stars-
              Yellow light tore sight from his eyes.

              "My good fool," said a learned bystander,
              "Your operations are mad."

              "You are too candid," cried the candid man
              And when his stick left the head of the learned
                                                         bystander
              It was two sticks.


                    Vse dal'she shel pryamodushnyj chelovek,
                    Svobodno beseduya s vetrom -
                    Ozirayas', on videl sebya v dalekoj neznakomoj
                                                            strane.

                    Vse dal'she shel pryamodushnyj chelovek,
                    Svobodno beseduya so zvezdami -
                    ZHeltyj svet ih zapechatlelsya v ego vzglyade.

                    - Moj dorogoj glupec, - skazal obrazovannyj
                                                              prohozhij, -
                    Tvoi postupki bezumny.
                    - Tvoya pryamota oskorbitel'na! -
                    vskrichal pryamodushnyj chelovek,
                    I, kogda ego palka otskochila ot golovy
                                                obrazovannogo prohozhego,
                    Ona prevratilas' v dve palki.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                          You tell me this is God?
                          I tell you this is a printed list,
                          A burning candle and an ass.


                     Ty govorish' mne, chto vidish' Boga?
                     YA govoryu tebe, chto vizhu
                     Goryashchuyu svechu, otkrytuyu knigu
                     I vperivshegosya v nee osla.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




             On the desert
             A silence from the moon's deepest valley.
             Fire-rays fall athwart the robes
             Of hooded men, squat and dumb.
             Before them, a woman
             Moves to the blowing of shrill whistles
             And distant-thunder of drums
             While slow things, sinuous, dull with terrible
                                                             color
             Sleepily fondle her body
             Or move at her will, swishing stealthily over the
                                                             sand.
             The snakes whisper softly;
             The whispering, whispering snakes
             Dreaming and swaying and staring
             But always whispering, softly whispering.
             The wind streams from the lone reaches
             Of Arabia, solemn with night,
             And the wild fire makes shimmer of blood
             Over the robes of the hooded men
             Squat and dumb.
             Bands of moving bronze, emerald, yellow
             Circle the throat and the arms of her
             And over the sands serpents move warily
             Slow, menacing and submissive,
             Swinging to the whistles and drums,
             The whispering, whispering snake,
             Dreaming and swaying and staring
             But always whispering, softly whispering.
             The dignity of the accursed;
             The glory of slavery, despair, death
             Is in the dance of the whispering snakes.


               V pustyne
               Tishina glubokih lunnyh dolin.
               Ognennye luchi koso padayut na shirokie odezhdy
                                                        kapyushony
               Lyudej, prignuvshihsya, molchalivyh.
               Vperedi zhenshchina,
               Bredushchaya tuda, otkuda donositsya pronzitel'nyj
                                                        vetra
               I dalekij rokot barabanov;
               Medlitel'nye izvivayushchiesya tvari zloveshchego
                                                        tusklogo cveta
               Sonno laskayut ee telo
               Ili, poslushnye ee vole, besshumno skol'zyat po
                                                        pesku.

               Zmei shepchutsya chut' slyshno;
               SHepchushchiesya, shepchushchiesya zmei,
               Dremlyushchie, izvivayushchiesya, vstayushchie dybom,
               No vse ravno shepchushchiesya, chut' slyshno
                                                  shepchushchiesya.
               Veter duet iz bezlyudnyh prostorov Aravii,
               Pogruzhennyh v sumerki;
               Zarnicy brosayut krovavye otbleski
               Na shirokie odezhdy i kapyushony lyudej,
               Prignuvshihsya, molchalivyh.
               ZHivye lenty - bronzovye, izumrudnye, zheltye -
               V'yutsya vokrug ee shei i ruk;
               Zmejki ostorozhno skol'zyat po pesku,
                                                  medlitel'nye,
               Ugrozhayushchie ili poslushnye,
               Raskachivayushchiesya v takt barabanam i svistu
               SHepchushchiesya, shepchushchiesya zmei,
               Dremlyushchie, izvivayushchiesya, vstayushchie dybom,
               No vse ravno shepchushchiesya, chut' slyshno
                                                  shepchushchiesya.
               Velichie proklyatyh,
               Blazhenstvo rabstva, otchayan'ya, smerti -
               Vse eto v tance shepchushchiesya zmej.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




               A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices
               Which, bawled by boys from mile to mile,
               Spreads its curious opinion
               To a million merciful and sneering men.
               While families cuddle the joys of the fireside
               When spurred by tale of dire lone agony.
               A newspaper is a court
               Where every one is kindly and unfairly tried
               By a squalor of honest men.
               A newspaper is a market
               Where wisdom sells its freedom
               And melons are crowned by the crowd.
               A newspaper is a game
               Where his error scores the player victory
               While another's skill wins death.
               A newspaper is a symbol;
               It is fetless life's chronicle,
               A collection of loud tales
               Concentrating eternal stupidities,
               That in remote ages lived unhaltered,
               Roaming through a fenceless world.


              Gazeta - eto podborka polupravd,
              Kotorye na kazhdom uglu vykrikivayut mal'chishki,
              Donosya nesuraznye suzhdeniya
              Do millionov snishoditel'nyh i nasmeshlivyh lyudej,
              CH'i sem'i v eto vremya, sidya u kamina,
              Smakuyut dusherazdirayushchie rosskazni
              o ch'ej-nibud' gibeli
              Gazeta - eto sud,
              Kotoryj ispravno i nepravedno vershit nad kazhdym
              Tupost' chestnyh lyudej.
              Gazeta - eto torzhishche,
              Gde mudrost' prodaet svoyu svobodu,
              A tykvennye golovy uvenchivaet chern'.
              Gazeta - eto igra,
              V kotoroj promah prinosit igroku pobedu,
              A masterstvo vedet ego k gibeli.
              Gazeta - eto simvol,
              Bespoleznaya hronika zhizni,
              Nabor gromkih spleten,
              Gusto zameshannyj na neistrebimyh glupostyah,
              CHto perezhili dolgie veka,
              Bluzhdaya po bezzashchitnomu miru.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                   Gazeta - sobranie polupravd,
                   Gromkie kriki mal'chishek milya za milej
                   Donosyat ee nelepoe mnenie
                   Do milliona nasmeshnikov i sostradatelej.
                   Sem'i sbivayutsya v kuchu u ochaga
                   I s vostorgom chitayut o smerti zhestokoj lyubvi.
                   Gazeta - sudilishche,
                   Gde kazhdogo sudit staratel'no, nespravedlivo
                   Ubozhestvo chestnyh lyudej.

                   Gazeta - bazar,
                   Gde mudrost' torguet svoej svobodoj,
                   A tolpy venchayut arbuznye golovy.
                   Gazeta - igra, v kotoroj
                   Ee proschety prinosyat ej vyigrysh,
                   A iskusstvo protivnika idet emu na pogibel'.
                   Gazeta - simvol,
                   Letopis' bespoleznoj zhizni,
                   Sobranie gulkih spleten
                   Sredotochie vechnoj tuposti,
                   Idushchej po miru, ne znaya pregrad,
                   Iz otdalennyh stoletij.

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva




                       The wayfarer
                       Perceiving the pathway to truth
                       Was struck with astonishment.
                       It was thickly grown with weeds.
                       "Ha," he said,
                       "I see that none has passed here
                       In a long time."
                       Later he saw that each weed
                       Was a singular knife.
                       "Well," he mumbled at last,
                       "Doubtless there are other roads."


                   Putnik,
                   Otyskavshij tropinku k Pravde,
                   Vdrug zastyl v izumlenii:
                   Ona gusto zarosla travoj.
                   - Gm, - skazal on, -
                   Pohozhe, zdes' davno uzhe
                   Nikto ne hodil.
                   Potom on zametil, chto kazhdaya travinka
                   Ostryj nozh.
                   - M-da, - probormotal on togda, -
                   Poishchu-ka ya druguyu dorogu.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                     Putnik
                     Nabrel na dorogu k istine
                     I izumilsya:
                     Tak gusto ona zarosla travoj.
                     - Ba! - skazal on, -
                     YA vizhu, davnym-davno tut
                     Nikto ne hodil. -
                     I vdrug on zametil, chto kazhdaya
                     Travinka - nozh.
                     - M-da, - zaklyuchil on, -
                     Konechno, dolzhny byt' drugie dorogi.

                                                        Per. Andreya Sergeeva




              A slant of sun on dull brown walls
              A forgotten sky of bashful blue.
              Toward God a mighty hymn
              A song of collisions and cries
              Rumbling wheels, hoof-beats, bells,
              Welcomes, farewells, love-calls, final moans,
              Voices of joy, idiocy, warning, despair,
              The unknown appeals of brutes,
              The chanting of flowers
              The screams of cut trees,
              The senseless babble of hens and wise men-
              A clutteres incoherency that says at the stars:
              "Oh, God, save us."


            Solnechnye bliki na mrachnyh buryh stenah,
            Zabytaya chistota golubogo neba.
            Obrashchennyj k Tvorcu gromoglasnyj gimn,
            Pesn' yarosti i placha,
            Grohot koles, stuk kopyt, zvon kolokolov,
            Privetstviya, proshchaniya, vzdohi lyubvi,
            predsmertnye stony,
            Kriki radosti, bezumiya, straha, otchayan'ya,
            Temnyj zverinyj zov,
            Napevy raskryvayushchihsya butonov
            Tresk, padayushchih derev'ev,
            Bessmyslennoe kudahtan'e kur i filosofov -
            Ves' etot raznogolosyj hor, voznosyashchijsya k zvezdam:
            - Bozhe, spasi nas!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                Solnechnyj luch, skol'zyashchij vdol' mrachnyh sten.
                Stydlivaya golubizna zabytyh nebes.
                Nesushchijsya k Gospodu moshchnyj gimn,
                Pesn' krushenij i krikov,
                Grohot koles, cokot kopyt, kolokol'nyj zvon,
                Gul privetstvij, proshchanij, priznanij,
                                           nadgrobnyh plachej,
                Vozglasy radosti, gluposti, predosterezhen'ya,
                                           otchayan'ya,
                Nevnyatnye zvuki zverinyh fraz,
                Psalmodii cvetushchih roz,
                Vizg perepilivaemyh derev'ev,
                Bessmyslennyj gomon kuric i mudrecov,
                Nestrojnyj gvalt, vopiyushchij azh k zvezdam glas:
                "Bozhe, spasi nas!"

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




              Once, a man, clambering to the house-tops,
              Appealed to the heavens.
              With strong voice he called to the deaf spheres;
              A warrior's shout he raised to the suns.
              Lo, at last, there was a dot on the clouds,
              And-at last and at last-
              -God-the sky was filled with armies.


                Odnazhdy chelovek, vzobravshis' na kryshu doma,
                Vozzval k nebesam.
                Gromovoj glas ego pronizal nebesnye sfery,
                Boevoj klich voznessya k samomu Solncu.
                I vot na oblakah poyavilis' temnye tochki,
                A so vremenem - Bozhe! -
                Vse nebo perepolnilos' vojskami.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  There was a man with tongue of wood
                  Who essayed to sing,
                  And in truth it was lamentable
                  But there was one who heard
                  The clip-clapper of this tongue of wood
                  And knew what the man
                  Wished to sing,
                  And with that the singer was content.


                 ZHil na svete chelovek s derevyannym gorlom;
                 On proboval pet',
                 Hotya, po pravde govorya,
                 Rezul'taty byli plachevnymi.
                 Odnako nashelsya tot,
                 Kto slushal shchelkan'e derevyannogo gorla
                 I ponimal, chto pevec pytaetsya vyrazit'.
                 Pevec byl etim nemalo dovolen.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                      ZHil-byl chelovek - derevyannyj yazyk
                      I proboval pet'
                      I poistine zhalkie byli potugi
                      No byl odin kotoryj slushal
                      Kak kolotitsya derevyannyj yazyk
                      I ponimal o chem tot chelovek
                      Pytaetsya pet'
                      I pevec byl rad ibo on byl ponyat.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




                   The successful man has thrust himself
                   Through the water of the years,
                   Reeking wet with mistakes,
                   Bloody mistakes;
                   Slimed with victories over the lesser
                   A figure thankful on the shore of money.
                   Then, with the bones of fools
                   He buys silken banners
                   Limned with his triumphant face,
                   With the skins of wise men
                   He buys the trivial bows of all.
                   Flesh painted with marrow
                   Contributes a coverlet
                   A coverlet for his contented slumber
                   In guiltless ignorance, in ignorant guilt
                   He delivers his secrets to the riven multitude.
                   "Thus I defended: Thus I wrought."
                   Complacent, smiling
                   He stands heavily on the dead.
                   Erect on a pillar of skulls
                   He declaims his trampling of babes;
                   Smirking, fat, dripping
                   He makes his speech in guiltless ignorance,
                   Innocence.


              Preuspevayushchij chelovek, izlovchivshis', proshel
                                              po vodam let.
              Pokrytyj mokrymi pyatnami oshibok,
              Krovavyh oshibok,
              Ustavshij ot pobed nad slabymi,
              Stoit on teper' na denezhnom beregu,
              Slovno statuya Blagodarnosti.
              Vot, rasplachivayas' kostyami glupcov,
              Pokupaet on shelkovye znamena,
              Na kotoryh vyshit ego torzhestvuyushchij lik;
              Rasplachivayas' skal'pami mudryh,
              Pokupaet kazhdodnevnye poklony okruzhayushchih.
              Iz zhivoj ploti, pronizannoj obnazhennymi nervami,
              Sotkano pokryvalo,
              Pokryvalo, pod kotorym vidit on bezmyatezhnye sny.
              Izobrazhaya neveden'e i nevinnost', yavlyaya
                                               nevezhestvo i vinu,
              Poveryaet on svoi sekrety razobshchennoj tolpe:
              - Vot tak ya i ne dal sebya v obidu; tak ya dobilsya
                                               svoego
              Samodovol'nyj, ulybayushchijsya,
              Tyazhelo stoit on na mertvyh kostyah,
              Na postamente iz cherepov,
              Rasskazyvaya vsem, kak popiral mladencev.
              Otkormlennyj, razvyaznyj, uhmylyayushchijsya,
              Proiznosit on svoj spich v blazhennom neveden'i -
              Sama nevinnost'.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




              In the night
              Grey, heavy clouds muffled the valleys,
              And the peaks looked toward God, alone.
                  "Oh, Master that movest the wind with a finger,
                  Humble, idle, futile peaks are we.
                  Grant that we may run swiftly across the world
                  To huddle in worship at Thy feet."

              In the morning
              A noise of men at work came the clear blue miles
              And the little black cities were apparent.
                  "Oh, Master that knowest the meaning of rain-
                  Humble, idle, futile peaks are we.
                  Give voice to us, we pray, 0 Lord,
                  That we may sing Thy goodness to the sun."

              In the evening
              The far valleys were sprinkled with tiny lights.
                  "Oh, Master,
                  Thou who knowest the value of kings and birds,
                  Thou hast made us humble, idle, futile peaks.
                  Thou only needest eternal patience;
                  We bow to Thy wisdom, 0 Lord-
                  Humble, idle, futile peaks."

              In the night
              Grey, heavy clouds muffled the valleys
              And the peaks looked toward God, alone.


              Noch'yu
              Serye, svincovye oblaka okutali doliny
              I gory tshchetno pytalis' uvidet' Boga, odinokie.
                  - O Sozdatel', vzdymayushchij veter dvizheniem pal'ca,
                  My smirennye, prazdnye, bespoleznye gory.
                  Pozvol' nam bystro obezhat' ves' shar zemnoj,
                  CHtoby povergnut' nashe preklonenie k stopam tvoim.

              Utrom
              Zvuki lyudskogo truda raznosilis' po golubym milyam nebes
              I malen'kie chernye goroda byli yasno razlichimy.
                  - O Sozdatel', znayushchij prednaznachen'e dozhdevyh kapel',
                  My smirennye, prazdnye, bespoleznye gory.
                  Otkliknis', umolyaem tebya, Gospodi,
                  I my donesem pesn' o velikodushii tvoem do Solnca.

              Vecherom
              Po dal'nim dolinam byli razbryzgany kroshechnye ogon'ki.
                  - O Sozdatel',
                  Ty, znayushchij cenu monarham i pticam,
                  Sotvoril nas smirennymi, prazdnymi, bespoleznymi gorami,
                  Ty hochesh' lish' polnogo pokoya;
                  My sklonyaemsya pred tvoej mudrost'yu, Gospodi,
                  My, smirennye, prazdnye, bespoleznye gory.

              Noch'yu
              Serye, svincovye oblaka okutali doliny,
              I gory tshchetno pytalis' uvidet' Boga, odinokie.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




               The chatter of a death-demon from a tree-top.

               Blood-blood and torn grass-
               Had marked the rise of his agony-
               This lone hunter.
               The grey-green woods impassive
               Had watched the threshing of his limbs.

               A canoe with flashing paddle
               A girl with soft searching eyes,
               A call: "John!"

               Come, arise, hunter!
               Can you not hear?

               The chatter of a death-demon from a tree-top.


                  Demon smerti bormochet na vershine dereva.

                  Krov', krov' i vyrvannaya s kornem trava -
                  Tak nachalas' agoniya,
                  Agoniya odinokogo ohotnika.
                  Sero-zelenyj les Bezuchastno vziral
                  Na ego predsmertnye sudorogi.

                  Lodka s b'yushchimi po vode veslami,
                  Devushka s nezhnym, polnymi trevogi glazami,
                  Ee zov: - Dzhon!

                  Vosstan', otkliknis', ohotnik!
                  Neuzheli ty ne slyshish'?

                  Demon smerti bormochet na vershine dereva.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




           The impact of a dollar upon the heart
           Smiles warm red light

           Sweeping from the hearth rosily upon the white table,
           With the hanging cool velvet shadows
           Moving softly upon the door.

           The impact of a million dollars
           Is a crash of flunkeys
           And yawning emblems of Persia
           Cheeked against oak, France and a sabre,
           The outcry of old beauty
           Whored by pimping merchants
           To submission before wine and chatter.
           Silly rich peasants stamp the carpets of men,
           Dead men who dreamed fragrance and light
           Into their woof, their lives;
           The rug of an honest bear
           Under the foot of a cryptic slave
           Who speaks always of baubles,
           Forgetting place, multitude, work and state,
           Champing and mouthing of hats
           Making ratful squeak of hats,
           Hats.


                Dejstvie dollara na serdce -
                |to veselyj teplyj krasnyj ogonek,
                Otblesk pylayushchego kamina na beloj skaterti,
                Spokojnye barhatnye teni,
                Netoroplivo dvizhushchiesya po stvorkam dveri.

                Dejstvie milliona dollarov -
                |to krah neudachnikov,
                Ziyashchie emblemy Persii,
                Naglo vystavlennye protiv simvolov doblesti
                                                        i chesti,

                Vzvizgivan'e staroj krasotki,
                Kotoroj stroyat kury besstyzhie kupcy
                Za vinom i zastol'noj besedoj.
                Glupye razbogatevshie fermery shtampuyut kovry
                                                        iz lyudej,

                Mertvyh lyudej, mechtavshih vplesti svet
                i blagouhan'e

                V tkan' svoej zhizni;
                Poloviki iz teh, kto vel chestnuyu igru,
                Lezhat pod nogami temnyh lichnostej s rab'imi
                                                       dushami,

                Kotorye vechno boltayut o pustyakah,
                Zabyvaya ob okruzhenii, o lyudyah, o dele, o rodine,
                Bez umolku treshchat o shlyapkah,
                Po-krysinomu pishchat o shlyapkah,
                O shlyapkah.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                        A man said to the universe:
                        "Sir, I exist"
                        "However," replied the universe,
                        "The fact has not created in me
                        A sense of obligation."


                         CHelovek skazal Vselennoj:
                         - Smotri! YA sushchestvuyu!
                         - Da, - otvetila Vselennaya, -
                         No sej fakt eshche ne oznachaet,
                         CHto ya dolzhna o tebe zabotit'sya.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                         CHelovek obratilsya k kosmosu:
                         "Sudar', ya sushchestvuyu!"
                         "Odnako zhe, - vozrazil emu kosmos, -
                         |tot fakt ne rodil vo mne
                         CHuvstvo dolga".

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo





                  When the prophet, a complacent fat man,
                  Arrived at the mountain-top
                  He cried: "Woe to my knowledge!
                  I intended to see good white lands
                  And bad black lands-
                  But the scene is grey."


             Vzobravshis' na vershinu gory, prorok,
             Polnyj blagodushnyj chelovek,
             Vskrichal: - Bud' proklyat ves' moj zhiznennyj opyt!
             YA dumal, horoshie strany - svetlye,
             A plohie - temnye.
             No oni zhe vse serye!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                    Kogda prorok, samodovol'nyj i zhirnyj,
                    Vskarabkalsya na krutuyu goru,
                    On vskrichal: "O, moj zhalkij razum!
                    YA dumal uvidet' blagie belye strany
                    I durnye chernye strany,
                    YA vizhu - seruyu panoramu".

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo





                There was a land where lived no violets.
                A traveller at once demanded: "Why?"
                The people told him:
                "Once the violets of this place spoke thus:
                'Until some woman freely gives her lover
                To another woman
                We will fight in bloody scuffle.'"
                Sadly the people added:
                "There are no violets here."


             Byla na svete strana, gde ne rosli fialki.
             Puteshestvennik kak-to sprosil, v chem tut delo.
             Lyudi dali emu takoj otvet:
             - Odnazhdy fialki, rosshie v etih mestah, skazali:
             "Do teh por, poka hot' odna zhenshchina po dobroj vole
             Ne otdast drugoj svoego vozlyublennogo,
             My budem srazhat'sya mezhdu soboj v krovoprolitnyh
                                                        boyah".
             Lyudi s grust'yu dobavili:
             - Teper' zdes' net fialok.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                       Aye, workman, make me a dream
                       A dream for my love.
                       Cunningly weave sunlight,
                       Breezes and flowers.
                       Let it be of the cloth of meadows.
                       And-good workman-
                       And let there be a man walking thereon.


                O iskusnyj master! Proshu tebya, sotvori son,
                Son dlya moej lyubimoj.
                Berezhno spleti v nem solnechnyj svet,
                Nezhnyj veterok, cvety.
                Pust' prisnitsya ej shelkovistaya tkan' luga
                I - moj dobryj master -
                Pust' uvidit ona togo, kto gulyaet po nemu.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

{Pod e 99 v izdanii "The Poems of Stephen Crane" (A critical edition by Joseph
Katz), New York, 1966, povtorno pomeshcheno stihotvorenie e 33. Delo v tom, chto
ono bylo vklyucheno Krejnom v oba prizhiznennyh sbornika ego stihov.}





              Each small gleam was a voice
              -A lantern voice-
              In little songs of carmine, violet, green, gold.
              A chorus of colors came over the water;
              The wondrous leaf shadow no longer wavered,
              No pines crooned on the hills
              The blue night was elsewhere a silence
              When the chorus of colors came over the water,
              Little songs of carmine, violet, green, gold.

              Small glowing pebbles
              Thrown on the dark plane of evening
              Sing good ballads of God
              And eternity, with soul's rest.
              Little priests, little holy fathers
              None can doubt the truth of your hymning
              When the marvellous chorus comes over the water
              Songs of carmine, violet, green, gold.


              Mimoletnye otbleski byli golosami
              - Svetozarnymi golosami -
              Slivshimisya v karminnye, lilovye, zelenye,
              zolotye melodii.
              Hor krasok zavladel vodoyu;
              Ne kolyhalis' bol'she prichudlivye teni derev'ev,
              Ne peli sosny na holmah,
              Nichto ne narushalo tishinu sinego vechera,
              I hor krasok rascvetil vodu
              Karminnymi, lilovymi, zelenymi,
                                       zolotymi melodiyami.

              Malen'kie sverkayushchie kameshki,
              Broshennye na temnoe pokryvalo sumerek,
              Poyut charuyushchie ballady o Boge,
              O vechnosti i dushevnom pokoe.
              Malen'kie serafimy, malen'kie apostoly,
              Nel'zya ne verit' vashim pesnopeniyam,
              Kogda chudesnyj hor rascvechivaet vodu
              Karminnymi, lilovymi, zelenymi,
                                     zolotymi melodiyami.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




              The trees in the garden rained flowers.
              Children ran there joyously.
              They gathered the flowers
              Each to himself.
              Now there were some
              Who gathered great heaps-
              -Having opportunity and skill-
              Until, behold, only chance blossoms
              Remained for the feeble.
              Then a little spindling tutor
              Ran importantly to the father, crying:
              "Pray, come hither!
              See this unjust thing in your garden!"
              But when the father had surveyed,
              He admonished the tutor:
              "Not so, small sage!
              This thing is just.
              For,look you,
              Are not they who possess the flowers
              Stronger, bolder, shrewder
              Than they who have none?
              Why should the strong-
              -The beautiful strong-
              Why should they not have the flowers?"

              Upon reflection, the tutor bowed to the ground.
              "My Lord," he said,
              "The stars are misplaced
              By this towering wisdom."


                Sad byl useyan cvetami, slovno kaplyami dozhdya;
                Tam veselo igrali deti,
                Kazhdyj iz nih
                Sobiral cvety.
                Vyshlo tak, chto nekotorye -
                - Samye lovkie -
                Pol'zuyas' sluchaem, nabrali bol'shie ohapki,
                A dlya slabyh ostalos' lish' neskol'ko cvetochkov.
                Togda malen'kij tshchedushnyj nastavnik detej
                S ozabochennym vidom pribezhal k otcu, kricha:
                - Umolyayu, idemte so mnoj!
                Vzglyanite, chto za bezobraziya tvoryatsya v vashem sadu!
                No kogda otec ponyal, chto proishodit,
                On upreknul nastavnika:
                - Ty ne prav, malen'kij mudrec!
                Vse eto v poryadke veshchej.
                Razve ty ne vidish':
                Deti, zavladevshie cvetami,
                Sil'nee, smelee, hitree teh,
                Kto ostalsya s pustymi rukami.
                Pochemu by sil'nym -
                - Voistinu sil'nym -
                Pochemu im ne prisvoit' vse cvety?

                Porazmysliv, nastavnik ponik glavoyu.
                - Gospodi, - skazal on, -
                Zvezdy padayut s neba
                Ot takoj snogsshibatel'noj mudrosti.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                                 "INTRIGUE"

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art the peace of sundown
                  When the blue shadows soothe
                  And the grasses and the leaves sleep
                  To the song of the little brooks
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art a storm
                  That breaks black in the sky
                  And, sweeping headlong,
                  Drenches and cowers each tree
                  And at the panting end
                  There is no sound
                  Save the melancholy cry of a single owl
                  Woe is me!

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art a tinsel thing
                  And I in my play
                  Broke thee easily
                  And from the little fragments
                  Arose my long sorrow
                  Woe is me

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art a weary violet
                  Drooping from sun-caresses.
                  Answering mine carelessly
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art the ashes of other men's love
                  And I bury my face in these ashes
                  And I love them
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art the beard
                  On another man's face
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art a temple
                  And in this temple is an altar
                  And on this altar is my heart
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art a wretch.
                  Let these sacred love-lies choke thee
                  For I am come to where I know your lies as truth
                  And your truth as lies
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art a priestess
                  And in thy hand is a bloody dagger
                  And my doom comes to me surely
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art a skull with ruby eyes
                  And I love thee
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And I doubt thee
                  And if peace came with thy murder
                  Then would I murder.
                  Woe is me.

                  Thou art my love
                  And thou art death
                  Aye, thou art death
                  Black and yet black
                  But I love thee
                  I love thee
                  Woe, welcome woe, to me.


                                   LYUBOVX

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty tishina v chas zakata,
                  Kogda zamirayut golubye teni,
                  Zasypayut list'ya i travy,
                  Ubayukannye peniem ruch'ya.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty burya,
                  CHto prodiraet chernye breshi v nebe
                  I, bezuderzhno rydaya,
                  Zahlestyvaet vodoj i treplet kazhdoe derevo,
                  Poka, vkonec zadohnuvshis', ne umolknet;
                  A posle - ni zvuka,
                  Lish' pechal'nyj krik odinokoj sovy.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty sverkayushchaya bezdelushka,
                  Kotoruyu ya sluchajno razbil,
                  Igraya,
                  I iz melkih oskolkov
                  Vzrosla moya bezmernaya pechal'.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty tomnaya fialka,
                  Ponikshaya pod laskami solnca,
                  Povinuyushchayasya mne bezdumno.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty prah lyubvi tvoih prezhnih vozlyublennyh,
                  I ya pryachu lico v etom prahe,
                  YA lyublyu ego.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty boroda
                  Na lice drugogo muzhchiny.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty hram,
                  I vo hrame tom est' altar',
                  I na altare tom lezhit moe serdce.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty ved'ma;
                  Pust' proklyataya lozh', chto spletena s tvoej lyubov'yu,
                  Zadushit tebya -
                  Ved' ya doshel do togo, chto vo lzhi tvoej vizhu pravdu,
                  A v pravde tvoej - lozh'.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty zhrica,
                  V rukah tvoih okrovavlennyj kinzhal,
                  I rok neotvratimo nastigaet menya.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty cherep s rubinami v glaznicah,
                  I ya lyublyu tebya.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  I ya boyus' tebya;
                  Esli b smert' tvoya prinesla mne pokoj,
                  YA ubil by tebya.
                  Gore mne.

                  Ty lyubov' moya,
                  Ty smert',
                  Da, ty smert',
                  CHernee samogo mraka,
                  No ya lyublyu tebya,
                  YA lyublyu tebya.
                  Gore, prihodi, prihodi ko mne.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                    Love forgive me if I wish you grief
                    For in your grief
                    You huddle to my breast
                    And for it
                    Would I pay the price of your grief

                    You walk among men
                    And all men do not surrender
                    And this I understand
                    That love reaches his hand
                    In mercy to me.

                    He had your picture in his room
                    A scurvy traitor picture
                    And he smiled
                    -Merely a fat complacence
                    Of men who know fine women-
                    And thus I divided with him
                    A part of my love

                    Fool, not to know that thy little shoe
                    Can make men weep!
                    -Some men weep.
                    I weep and I gnash
                    And I love the little shoe
                    The little, little shoe.

                    God give me medals
                    God give me loud honors
                    That I may strut before you, sweetheart
                    And be worthy of-
                    -The love I bear you.

                    Now let me crunch you
                    With full weight of affrighted love
                    I doubted you
                    -I doubted you-
                    And in this short doubting
                    My love grew like a genie
                    For my further undoing.

                    Beware of my Mends
                    Be not in speech too sivil
                    For in all courtesy
                    My weak heart sees spectres,
                    Mists of desires
                    Arising from the lips of my chosen
                    Be not civil.

                    The flower I gave thee once
                    Was incident to a stride
                    A detail of a gesture
                    But search those pale petals
                    And see engraven thereon
                    A record of my intention.


                Lyubimaya, prosti, chto mne hochetsya videt' tebya
                                                   pechal'noj -
                Ved', stradaya,
                Ty prizhimaesh'sya k moej grudi,
                A za eto
                Gotov ya zaplatit' cenu tvoej pechali.

                Ty okruzhena lyud'mi,
                I oni ne izbegayut obshcheniya s toboj,
                I togda ya ponimayu,
                CHto lyubimaya kasaetsya chuzhoj ruki,
                Sostradaya mne.

                On povesil u sebya v komnate tvoj portret,
                Portret, stavshij podlym predatelem,
                I on smeyalsya
                - To bylo lish' glupoe samodovol'stvo
                CHeloveka, privykshego byvat' sredi krasivyh
                                                  zhenshchin -
                I vot tak ya podelil s nim
                CHasticu moej lyubvi.

                Glupec, kak zhe ya ne znal, chto tvoya malen'kaya
                                                     tufel'ka
                Mozhet byt' prichinoj muzhskih slez!
                - CH'ih-to slez.
                YA plachu tozhe, ya skrezheshchu zubami,
                I ya lyublyu etu malen'kuyu tufel'ku,
                Malen'kuyu, malen'kuyu tufel'ku.

                Bog daroval mne medali,
                Bog nagradil menya gromkimi pochestyami,
                I ya mogu pohvalit'sya pered toboj,
                                                vozlyublennaya,
                I byt' dostojnym
                Lyubvi, chto ya daryu tebe.

                Pozvol' zhe mne obrushit' na tebya
                Vsyu tyazhest' muchitel'noj strasti.
                YA somnevalsya v tebe
                - YA somnevalsya v tebe -
                I ot etogo kratkogo somneniya
                Moya lyubov' vyrosla, slovno dzhinn,
                Kotoryj vskore pogubit menya.

                Osteregajsya druzej moih,
                Ne bud' s nimi chereschur obhoditel'noj,
                Ved' takaya uchtivost'
                Ranit moe bezzashchitnoe serdce,
                I mne vidyatsya prizraki, tuman vozhdeleniya,
                Podnimayushchijsya ot gub tvoih, lyubimaya.
                Ne bud' chereschur obhoditel'noj.

                Cvetok, chto ya odnazhdy podaril tebe,
                Byl znakom rozhdayushchegosya chuvstva,
                Malen'koj chasticej moego prekloneniya,
                No vzglyani na eti poblekshie lepestki
                I prochti zapechatlennuyu na nih
                Povest' o moih nadezhdah.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                 Ah, God, the way your little finger moved
                 As you thrust a bare arm backward
                 And made play with your hair
                 And a comb a silly gilt comb
                 Ah, God-that I should suffer
                 Because of the way a little finger moved.


              O moj Gospod', odno lish' dvizhenie tvoego pal'ca,
              Kogda ty podnyal ruku
              I, zabavlyayas', raschesyval volosy
              Obyknovennym zolochenym grebnem,
              O moj Gospod', kakie stradaniya ono prineslo mne,
              Odno lish' dvizhenie tvoego pal'ca!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




             Once I saw thee idly rocking
             -Idly rocking-
             And chattering girlishly to other girls,
             Bell-voiced, happy,
             Careless with the stout heart of unscarred
                                                womanhood
             And life to thee was all light melody.
             I thought of the great storms of love as I know it
             Tom, miserable and ashamed of my open sorrow,
             I thought of the thunders that lived in my head
             And I wish to be an ogre
             And hale and haul my beloved to a castle
             And there use the happy cruel one cruelly
             And make her mourn with my mourning


               Odnazhdy ya videl, kak ty prazdno pokachivalas'
                                                     na kachelyah
               - Prazdno pokachivalas' -
               I po-devich'i boltala s podrugami,
               Zvonkogolosaya, schastlivaya,
               Voplotivshaya bezzabotnost' i besstrastie
                                     neomrachennoj zhenstvennosti,
               ZHizn' dlya tebya byla kak nezhnaya melodiya.

               YA dumal o perezhityh mnoyu neistovyh buryah
                                                     lyubvi;
               Isterzannyj, neschastnyj, stydyashchijsya svoej
                                                     neodolimoj pechali,
               YA dumal o gromovyh raskatah, zvuchavshih v moej
                                                     golove,
               I mne zahotelos' stat' svirepym velikanom,
               Shvatit' lyubimuyu i zatashchit' v svoj zamok,
               Proyavit' k nej vsyu zhestokost', na kakuyu ya
                                                     sposoben,
               I zastavit' ee stradat' tak, kak stradayu ya.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




              Tell me why, behind thee,
              I see always the shadow of another lover?
              Is it real
              Or is this the thrice-damned memory of a better
                                                      happiness?
              Plague on him if he be dead
              Plague on him if he be alive
              A swinish numbskull
              To intrude his shade
              Always between me and my peace


               Skazhi, pochemu za tvoej spinoj
               YA vsegda vizhu ten' tvoego prezhnego lyubovnika?
               On chto, yavlyaetsya sobstvennoj personoj,
               Ili eto trizhdy proklyatye vospominaniya
               O vashem bylom blazhenstve?
               CHuma na nego, esli on umer;
               CHuma na nego, esli on zhiv,
               |tot ostolop,
               Vse vremya vpihivayushchij svoyu nagluyu ten'
               Mezhdu mnoyu i moim spokojstviem!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                  And yet I have seen thee happy with me.
                  I am no fool
                  To pole stupidly into iron.
                  I have heard your quick breaths
                  And seen your arms writhe toward me;
                  At those times
                  -God help us-
                  I was impelled to be a grand knight
                  And swagger and snap my fingers,
                  And explain my mind finely.
                  Oh, lost sweetheart,
                  I would that I had not been a grand knight,
                  I said: "Sweetheart."
                  Thou said'st: "Sweetheart."
                  And we preserved an admirable mimicry
                  Without heeding the drip of the blood
                  From my heart.


                 I vse zhe ty inogda byla schastliva so mnoyu.
                 YA ne nastol'ko glup,
                 CHtoby zrya bit'sya golovoj ob stenu.
                 YA slyshal tvoi bystrye vzdohi,
                 Videl, kak ty prostirala ko mne drozhashchie ruki...
                 V te vremena
                 - Spasi nas, Bozhe -
                 Iz menya hoteli sdelat' znatnogo gospodina,
                 CHvannogo, vzirayushchego na lyudej svysoka,
                 Izyskanno vyrazhayushchego svoi mysli.
                 Uvy, moya poteryannaya vozlyublennaya,
                 YA nesposoben byt' znatnym gospodinom.
                 YA govoril: - Lyubimaya!
                 Ty govorila: - Lyubimyj! -
                 I my prodolzhali staratel'no podlazhivat'sya
                                                 pod ostal'nyh,
                 Ne obrashchaya vnimaniya na krov',
                 Sochivshuyusya iz moego serdca.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




              I heard thee laugh,
              And in this merriment
              I defined the measure of my pain;
              I knew that I was alone,
              Alone with love,
              Poor shivering love,
              And he, little sprite,
              Came to watch with me,
              And at midnight
              We were like two creatures by a dead camp-fire.


                  YA uslyshal, kak ty smeesh'sya,
                  I tvoe vesel'e otkrylo mne
                  Vsyu glubinu moego stradaniya.
                  YA znal, chto ostalsya odin,
                  Odin so svoej lyubov'yu,
                  ZHalkoj trepeshchushchej lyubov'yu;
                  Tol'ko malen'kij el'f priletel,
                  CHtob byt' so mnoj v chasy nochnogo bdeniya.
                  Vo mrake nochi
                  My pohodili na dve teni
                  U potuhshego, mertvogo kostra.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                I wonder if sometimes in the dusk,
                When the brave lights that gild thy evenings
                Have not yet been touched with flame,
                I wonder if sometimes in the dusk
                Thou rememberest a time,
                A time when thou loved me
                And our love was to thee all?
                Is the memory rubbish now?
                An old gown
                Worn in an age of other fashions?
                Woe is me, oh, lost one,
                For that love is now to me
                A supernal dream,
                White, white, white with many suns.


               Mne trudno predstavit', chto poroyu v sumerkah,
               Kogda krasochnye ogni, pozlativshie tvoi vechera,
               Eshche ne razgorayutsya v polnuyu silu,
               Mne trudno predstavit', chto poroyu v sumerkah
               Ty vspominaesh' vremena,
               Kogda ty lyubila menya
               I nasha lyubov' byla dlya tebya vsem.
               Neuzheli pamyat' ob etom teper' - nenuzhnyj hlam?
               Sluchajno nadetoe staroe plat'e,
               Davno vyshedshee iz mody?
               Gore mne, o poteryannaya vozlyublennaya!
               Ved' dlya menya sejchas eta lyubov' -
               Divnaya mechta,
               Svetlaya, svetlaya, svetlaya, kak mnozhestvo solnc!

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                Love met me at noonday,
                - Reckless imp,
                To leave his shaded nights
                And brave the glare,-
                And I saw him then plainly
                For a bungler,
                A stupid, simpering, eyeless bungler,
                Breaking the hearts of brave people
                As the snivelling idiot-boy cracks his bowl,
                And I cursed him,
                Cursed him to and fro, back and forth,
                Into all the silly mazes of his mind,
                But in the end
                He laughed and pointed to my breast,
                Where a heart still beat for thee, beloved.


                Lyubov' povstrechalas' mne v polden'
                - Bespechnyj chertenok,
                Pokinuvshij prikrytie temnyh nochej
                I yavivshijsya pri yarkom svete, -
                I ya togda yasno uvidel,
                CHto ona - neumejka,
                Glupaya, samodovol'naya, bezglazaya neumejka,
                Razbivayushchaya serdca hrabryh lyudej,
                Kak soplivyj durachok raskalyvaet svoyu chashku;
                I ya proklyal ee,
                S nog do golovy osypal proklyat'yami
                Ee samu i durackuyu putanicu v ee mozgah.
                No v otvet
                Ona rassmeyalas' i ukazala perstom na moyu grud',
                Gde serdce vse tak zhe bilos' dlya tebya, lyubimaya.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                   I have seen thy face aflame
                   For love of me,
                   Thy fair arms go mad,
                   Thy lips tremble and mutter and rave.
                   And-surely-
                   This should leave a man content?
                   Thou lovest not me now,
                   But thou didst love me,
                   And in loving me once
                   Thou gavest me an eternal privilege,
                   For I can think of thee.


                 YA videl, kak lico tvoe raskrasnelos',
                 Ozarennoe lyubov'yu ko mne,
                 Prekrasnye ruki tvoi bescel'no bluzhdali,
                 Guby drozhali, bessvyazno sheptali chto-to...
                 I eto - nado polagat' -
                 Dolzhno polnost'yu ublagotvorit' cheloveka?
                 Ty bol'she ne lyubish' menya,
                 No prezhde ty menya lyubila
                 I tem samym
                 Darovala mne vechnuyu privilegiyu -
                 YA mogu dumat' o tebe.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

       Stihotvoreniya opublikovannye posmertno




              A man adrift on a slim spar
              A horizon smaller than the rim of a bottle
              Tented waves rearing lashy dark points
              The near whine of froth in circles.
                                                   God is cold.

              The incessant raise and swing of the sea
              And growl after growl of crest
              The sinkings, green, seething, endless
              The upheaval half-completed.
                                                   God is cold.

              The seas are in the hollow of The Hand;
              Oceans may be turned to a spray
              Raining down through the stars
              Because of a gesture of pity toward a babe.
              Oceans may become grey ashes,
              Die with a long moan and a roar
              Amid the tumult of the fishes
              And the cries of the ships,
              Because The Hand beckons the mice.

              A horizon smaller than a doomed assassin's cap,
              Inky, surging tumults
              A reeling, drunken sky and no sky
              A pale hand sliding from a polished spar.
                                                   God is cold.

              The puff of a coat imprisoning air:
              A face kissing the water-death
              A weary slow sway of a lost hand
              And the sea, the moving sea, the sea.
                                                   God is cold.


              CHelovek, ceplyayushchijsya za oblomok machty,
              Gorizont, uzkij kak butylochnoe gorlyshko,
              Navisayushchie gory voln s chernymi grebnyami,
              Stony zybyashchejsya vokrug peny.
                                                   Bog bezuchasten.

              Bespreryvnoe cheredovanie vzleta
              i nizverzhen'ya valov,
              Rokot, rokot voln,
              Provaly mezhdu nimi - zelenye, burlyashchie,
                                                   bezdonnye,
              Blizyashchayasya gibel'.
                                                   Bog bezuchasten.

              Vse morya - v ladoni Ego ruki,
              Vse okeany mogli by obratit'sya v vodyanye bryzgi
              I prolit'sya dozhdem skvoz' zvezdy
              Ot odnogo lish' Ego zhesta sostradaniya k rebenku.
              Okeany mogli by stat' serym prahom,
              Umeret' s dolgimi stenan'yami i voem
              Sredi smyateniya ryb
              I reva korablej
              Ottogo, chto ruka Ego pomanila k sebe myshej.

              Gorizont, uzkij kak chasha v rukah
                                                   osuzhdennogo ubijcy,
              Bujstvo chernil'no-chernyh valov,
              SHatayushcheesya, zahlestyvaemoe volnami nebo,
              Slabeyushchaya ruka, otpustivshaya skol'zkij
                                                   oblomok machty.
                                                   Bog bezuchasten.

              Poslednij, bescennyj glotok vozduha,
              Pocelui vodyanoj smerti na lice,
              Dolgij, ustalyj vzmah ischezayushchej v puchine ruki
              I more, bespokojnoe more, more.
                                                   Bog bezuchasten.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




              Chant you loud of punishments,
              Of the twisting of the heart's poor strings
              Of the crash of the lightning's fierce revenge.

               Then sing I of the supple-souled men
               And the strong strong gods
               That shall meet in times hereafter
               And the amaze of the gods
               At the strength of the men.
               -The strong, strong gods-
               -And the supple-souled men-


             Ty vopiesh' o rasplate,
             O razorvannyh strunah chelovecheskih serdec,
             O strashnyh, pronzayushchih naskvoz' molniyah vozmezdiya.

               YA zhe poyu o lyudyah s ranimoj dushoyu
               I o sil'nyh, moguchih bogah;
               O tom, kak oni vstretyatsya kogda-nibud' -
               I bogi budut potryaseny
               Stojkost'yu lyudej.
               - Sil'nye, moguchie bogi -
               - I lyudi s ranimoj dushoyu -

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                   A naked woman and a dead dwarf;
                   Wealth and indifference.
                   Poor dwarf!
                   Reigning with foolish kings
                   And dying mid bells and wine
                   Ending with a desperate comic palaver
                   While before thee and after thee
                   Endures the eternal clown-
                   -The eternal clown-
                   A naked woman.


                Nagaya zhenshchina i mertvyj karlik;
                Izobilie i beschuvstvennost'.
                Bednyj karlik!
                Ty carstvoval vmeste s korolyami-glupcami,
                Umiral pod zvon bubencov i bokalov,
                Okanchival zhizn' poslednej, otchayannoj shutkoj;
                Odnako i do, i posle tebya,
                Vo vse vremena sushchestvoval vechnyj kloun -
                - Vechnyj kloun -
                Nagaya zhenshchina.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




               Little birds of the night
               Aye, they have much to tell
               Perching there in rows
               Blinking at me with their serious eyes
               Recounting of flowers they have seen and loved
               Of meadows and groves of the distance
               And pale sands at the foot of the sea
               And breezes that fly in the leaves
               They are vast in experience
               These little birds that come in the night.


               Malen'kie ptichki v nochi,
               O mnogom, mogli by oni rasskazat',
               Sidya ryadkom na vetke,
               Poglyadyvaya na menya svoimi ser'eznymi glazkami,
               Vspominaya cvety, chto dovelos' im videt' i lyubit',
               Dalekie luga i roshchi,
               Blednyj pesok pod nogami u morya
               I veterok, kolyhavshij listvu.
               Oni stol'ko vsego perevidali,
               |ti malen'kie ptichki, priletevshie noch'yu.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                   Unwind my riddle.
                   Cruel as hawks the hours fly;
                   Wounded men seldom come home to die;
                   The hard waves see an arm flung high;
                   Scorn hits strong because of a lie;
                   Yet there exists a mystic tie.
                   Unwind my riddle.


                  Razgadaj moyu zagadku.
                  CHasy - kak yastreby, bezzhalostnye, -
                                             bystro;
                  Kto ranen - redko doma umiraet;
                  Moguchaya ruka volnen'em morya upravlyaet;
                  Nespravedlivaya nasmeshka bol'no uyazvlyaet;
                  I vse eto tainstvennaya svyaz' soedinyaet.
                  Razgadaj moyu zagadku.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




          Ah, haggard purse, why ope thy mouth
          Like a greedy urchin
          I have naught wherewith to feed thee
          Thy wan checks have ne'er been puffed
          Thou knowest not the fill of pride
          Why then gape at me
          In fashion of a wronged one
          Thou do smilest wanly
          And reproaches! me with thine empty stomach
          Thou knowest I'd sell my steps to the grave
          If t'were but honestie
          Ha, leer not so,
          Name me no names of wrongs committed with thee
          No ghost can lay hand on thee and me
          We've been too thin to do sin
          What, liar? When thou was filled of gold, didst I riot?
          And give thee no time to eat?
          No, thou brown devil, thou art stuffed now with lies as
                                                      with wealth,
          The one gone to let in the other.


                |j, toshchij moj koshel', zachem ty razinul past'
                Kak prozhorlivyj mal'chishka?
                Mne nechem kormit' tebya!
                Tvoi shcheki vsegda byli vpalymi,
                Tebe neznakomo chuvstvo gordosti,
                Pochemu zhe ty ustavilsya na menya,
                Kak budto ya tebya obidel?
                Ty krivo ulybaesh'sya
                I poprekaesh' menya svoim pustym bryuhom,
                Ty, znayushchij, chto ya prodal by dazhe shagi,
                                otdelyayushchie menya ot mogily,
                Esli b eta sdelka mogla byt' chestnoj.
                |j, ne smotri na menya tak,
                Ne nazyvaj imena tayashchihsya v tebe porokov -
                Ni duhu, ni zhivoj dushe ne otdam sebya i tebya -
                Nam s toboj slishkom ne povezlo, chtob vershit' zlo.
                CHto? Poslushaj, lzhec, kogda ty byl nabit zolotom,
                                razve ya protestoval?
                Razve ne daval tebe vozmozhnostej nasytit'sya?
                Net, korichnevyj d'yavol, ty polon teper' lozh'yu,
                                slovno zvonkoj monetoj -
                Oni ved' ne mogut sushchestvovat' drug bez druga.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                     One came from the skies
                     -They said-
                     And with a band he bound them
                     A man and a woman.
                     Now to the man
                     The band was gold
                     And to another, iron
                     And to the woman, iron.
                     But this second man,
                     He took his opinion and went away
                     But, by heavens,
                     He was none too wise.


                   Nekto spustilsya s nebes
                   - Rasskazyvayut lyudi -
                   I svyazal lentoj dvoih -
                   Muzhchinu i zhenshchinu.
                   Muzhchina dumal,
                   CHto lenta zlatotkannaya,
                   Drugoj zhe muzhchina - chto ona stal'naya;
                   ZHenshchine ona tozhe kazalas' stal'noj.
                   Odnako etot vtoroj muzhchina
                   Mahnul rukoj i udalilsya vosvoyasi.
                   Klyanus' nebesami,
                   On byl ne slishkom umen.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                   A god came to a man
                   And said to him thus:
                   "I have an apple
                   It is a glorious apple
                   Aye, I swear by my ancestors
                   Of the eternities before this eternity
                   It is an apple that is from
                   The inner thoughts of heaven's greatest.

                   "And this I will hang here
                   And then I will adjust thee here
                   Thus-you may reach it.
                   And you must stifle your nostrils
                   And control your hands
                   And your eyes
                   And sit for sixty years
                   But,-leave be the apple."

                   The man answered in this wise:
                   "Oh, most interesting God
                   What folly is this?
                   Behold, thou hast moulded my desires
                   Even as thou hast moulded the apple.

                   "How, then?
                   Can I conquer my life
                   Which is thou?
                   My desires?
                   Look you, fookish god
                   If I thrust behind me
                   Sixty white years
                   I am a greater god than God
                   And, then, complacent splendor,
                   Thou wilt see that the golden angels
                   That sing pink hymns
                   Around thy throne-top
                   Will be lower than my feet."


                 Bog yavilsya cheloveku
                 I skazal emu:
                 - U menya est' yabloko.
                 |to chudesnoe yabloko,
                 Klyanus' moimi predkami,
                 ZHivshimi zadolgo do nyneshnih vremen.
                 |to yabloko, rozhdennoe
                 Sokrovennymi myslyami nebesnyh patriarhov.

                 YA podveshu ego zdes',
                 A potom posazhu ryadom tebya
                 Tak, chtoby ty mog ego dostat'.
                 No ty dolzhen zazhat' svoi nozdri,
                 Ne davat' volyu rukam
                 I glazam
                 I prosidet' zdes' shest'desyat let,
                 Ostaviv yabloko netronutym.

                 CHelovek otvetil tak:
                 - O zabavnejshij iz bogov!
                 CHto eto za vzdor?
                 Ty vydumal dlya menya vozhdelenie,
                 Kak vydumal i yabloko.

                 CHto zhe budet?
                 Mogu li ya rasporyazhat'sya moej zhizn'yu,
                 Prinadlezhashchej tebe?
                 Moimi zhelaniyami?
                 Podumaj, o glupejshij iz bogov,
                 Esli ya vybroshu na veter
                 SHest'desyat luchshih let moej zhizni,
                 To stanu bolee velikim bogom, chem ty sam,
                 I togda, samodovol'nyj vlastitel',
                 Ty uvidish', chto zlatokudrye angely,
                 Raspevayushchie nezemnye gimny
                 Vokrug tvoego trona,
                 Okazhutsya nizhe moih kolen.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




             There is a grey thing that lives in the tree-tops
             None know the horror of its sight
             Save those who meet death in the wilderness
             But one is enabled

             To see branches move at its passing
             To hear at times the wail of black laughter
             And to come often upon mystic places
             Places where the thing has just been.


                Seroe sushchestvo obitaet na vershinah derev'ev.
                Nikto ne znaet, kak uzhasen ego vzglyad,
                Krome teh, kto vstrechalsya so Smert'yu
                                                       sredi pustyni.

                No koe-komu sluchalos' videt',
                Kak shevelyatsya vetki pod ego kryl'yami,
                Slyshat' raskaty zlobnogo smeha,
                Okazyvat'sya v takih mestah, gde igraet muzyka, -
                Tam, gde seroe sushchestvo tol'ko chto pobyvalo.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




             If you would seek a friend among men
             Remember: they are crying their wares.
             If you would ask of heaven of men
             Remember: they are crying their wares
             If you seek the welfare of men
             Remember: they are crying their wares
             If you would bestow a curse upon men
             Remember: they are crying their wares
                    Crying their wares
                    Crying their wares
             If you seek the attention of men
             Remember:
             Help them or hinder them as they cry their wares.


                Esli ty ishcheshch' druga sredi lyudej,
                Pomni: oni rashvalivayut svoi tovary.
                Esli ty hochesh' byt' schastlivym sredi lyudej,
                Pomni: oni rashvalivayut svoi tovary.
                Esli ty zhazhdesh' zhit' dlya blaga lyudej,
                Pomni: oni rashvalivayut svoi tovary.
                Esli ty obrushivaesh' proklyatiya na lyudej,
                Pomni: oni rashvalivayut svoi tovary,
                       Rashvalivayut svoi tovary,
                       Rashvalivayut svoi tovary.
                Esli ty zhelaesh' privlech' vnimanie lyudej,
                Pomogi ili pomeshaj im,
                Kogda oni rashvalivayut svoi tovary.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                     Esli ty ishcheshch' druga sredi lyudej
                     Pomni: oni reklamiruyut svoi tovary.
                     Esli ty prosish' boga za etih lyudej
                     Pomni: oni reklamiruyut svoi tovary.
                     Esli ty ishcheshch' blaga dlya etih lyudej,
                     Pomni: oni reklamiruyut svoi tovary.
                     Esli ty hochesh' predat' proklyatiyu lyudej
                     Pomni: oni reklamiruyut svoi tovary.
                            Reklamiruyut svoi tovary
                            Reklamiruyut svoi tovary
                     Esli ty hochesh' privlech' vnimanie lyudej
                     Pomni:
                     Pomogi ili pomeshaj im reklamirovat' ih tovary.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo





           A lad and a maid at a curve in the stream
           And a shine of soft silken waters
           Where the moon-beams fall through a hemlock's boughs
           Oh, night dismal, night glorious.

           A lad and a maid at the rail of a bridge
           With two shadows adrift on the water
           And the wind sings low in the grass on the shore
           Oh, night dismal, night glorious.

           A lad and a maid, in a canoe,
           And a paddle making silver turmoil


           YUnosha i deva u izluchiny reki
           I siyanie nezhnyh shelkovistyh vod
           V lunnom svete, l'yushchemsya skvoz' vetvi ternovnika.
           O nochnaya t'ma, nochnoe velikolepie!

           YUnosha i deva, opershiesya na perila mosta,
           Dve teni, koleblemye techeniem,
           I veter, poyushchij v trave na beregu, pod nimi...
           O nochnaya t'ma, nochnoe velikolepie!

           YUnosha i deva v lodke
           I veslo, ostavlyayushchee na vode serebristyj sled...

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                A solder, young in years, young in ambitions
                Alive as no grey-beard is alive
                Laid his heart and his hopes before duty
                And went staunchly into the tempest of war.
                There did the bitter red winds of battle
                Swirl 'gainst his youth, beat upon his ambitions,
                Drink his cool clear blood of manhood
                Until at coming forth time

                He was alive merely as the greybeard is alive.
                And for this-

                The nation rendered to him a flower
                A little thing-a flower
                Aye, but yet not so little

                For this flower grew in the nation's heart
                A wet, soft blossom
                From tears of her who loved her son
                Even when the black battle rages
                Made his face the face of furious urchin,
                And this she cherished
                And finally laid it upon the breast of him.
                A little thing-this flower?
                No-it was the flower of duty
                That inhales black smoke-clouds
                And fastens it's roots in bloody sod
                And yet comes forth so fair, so fragrant-
                It's birth is sunlight in grimest, darkest place.


                Soldat, yunyj godami, yunyj dushoyu,
                Oshchushchavshij polnotu zhizni, nevedomuyu starcam,
                Pozhertvoval svoimi chuvstvami i nadezhdami
                                                   radi dolga
                I po sobstvennoj vole popal v peklo vojny.
                Tam zhguchie alye vihri srazhenij
                Oborvali cvet ego yunosti, razbili ego nadezhdy,
                Issushili chistyj prohladnyj istochnik ego sil,
                I vot nakonec nastalo vremya,
                Kogda zhizn' v nem uzhe edva teplilas',
                                             kak v dryahlom starce.
                I za vse eto
                Strana podarila emu cvetok,
                Vsego lish' cvetok.
                Da, no eto ne tak uzh malo -
                Ved' cvetok tot ros v samom serdce strany,
                Nezhnyj, vlazhnyj rostok,
                Polityj slezami toj, chto lyubila svoego syna
                Dazhe togda, kogda chernaya yarost' bitvy
                Prevrashchala ego lico v lik zlobnogo d'yavola;
                |tot cvetok ona leleyala
                I v konce koncov prilozhila k ego grudi.
                Razve cvetok - eto malo?
                Net, ved' to byl cvetok voinskogo dolga,
                Vdyhavshij chernye kluby dyma,
                Pustivshij korni v okrovavlennuyu pochvu,
                I vse zhe vyrosshij prekrasnym i dushistym.
                Ego rozhdenie - kak voshod solnca
                                             v sredotochii t'my.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




              A row of thick pillars
              Consciously bracing for the weight
              Of a vanished roof
              The bronze light of sunset strikes through them,
              And over a floor made for slow rites.
              There is no sound of singing
              But, aloft, a great and terrible bird
              Is watching a cur, beaten and cut,
              That crawls to the cool shadows of the pillars
              To die.

                 Ryad moshchnyh kolonn,
                 Sposobnyh vyderzhat' ves
                 Davno uzhe otsutstvuyushchej kryshi;
                 Bronzovyj svet zakata pronikaet mezhdu nimi
                 I osveshchaet pol, prednaznachennyj dlya
                                                    torzhestvennyh shestvij.
                 Teper' zdes' ne slyshno zvukov peniya;
                 Lish' ogromnaya strashnaya ptica v vyshine
                 Sledit za izbitoj, izranennoj sobachonkoj,
                 Polzushchej v prohladnuyu ten' kolonn,
                 CHtoby tam umeret'.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                    Oh, a rare old wine ye brewed for me
                    Flagons of bespair
                    A deep deep drink of this wine of life
                    Flagons of despair.

                      Dream of riot and blood and screams
                      The rolling white eyes of dying men
                      The terrible heedless courage of babes


                O staroe terpkoe vino, ty vyderzhano dlya menya
                V kuvshinah otchayan'ya.
                Mnogo-mnogo glotkov etogo vina zhizni
                V kuvshinah otchayan'ya.

                     Vo sne - smuta, krov', kriki,
                     Umirayushchie lyudi, belki ih zakativshihsya glaz,
                     Uzhasayushchaya bezrassudnaya hrabrost' detej.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




            There exists the eternal fact of conflict
            And-next-a mere sense of locality
            Afterward we derive sustenance from the winds.
            Afterward we grip upon this sense of locality.
            Afterward, we become patriots.
            The godly vice of patriotism makes us slaves,
            And-let us surrender to this falsity
            Let us be patriots

            Then welcome us the practical men
            Thrumming on a thousand drums
            The practical men, God help us.
              They cry aloud to be led to war
              Ah-
              They have been poltroons on a thousand fields
              And the sacked sad city of New York is their record
              Furious to face the Spaniard, these people, and
                                  crawling worms before their task
              They name serfs and send charity in bulk to better men
              They play at being free, these people of New York
              Who are too well-dressed to protest against infamy



                Vo vse vremena sushchestvuyut konflikty
                I porozhdennoe imi chuvstvo gruppovoj obshchnosti.
                My privykaem cherpat' uverennost' v etom chuvstve,
                My privykaem ceplyat'sya za etu obshchnost',
                My stanovimsya patriotami.
                Patriotizm, etot svyashchennyj porok,
                                         delaet nas rabami.
                I vse zhe poprobuem primirit'sya s etoj lozh'yu,
                Budem patriotami.

                |to srazu zhe odobryat delovye lyudi,
                B'yushchie v tysyachi barabanov
                Delovye lyudi, spasi nas. Bozhe.
                 Oni nadsazhivayut glotki, chtoby
                                     sprovocirovat' vojnu,
                 Da-da, oni,
                 Tysyachi raz prazdnovavshie trusa na pole boya.
                 Unylyj, opustoshennyj N'yu-Jork -
                 pamyatnik ih deyaniyam.
                 Oni neistovstvuyut pri vide ispanca*, eti lyudi,
                        i, slovno chervi, uvilivayut ot voinskogo dolga.
                 Oni imenuyut slugami
                 i odarivayut milostynej teh, kogo ne stoyat.
                 Oni prevratili Svobodu v igrushku,
                                      eti lyudi iz N'yu-Jorka,
                 Slishkom horosho odetye, chtoby protestovat'
                                      protiv nespravedlivosti.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

{* Stihotvorenie napisano (prim. perevodchika) v gody ispano-amerikanskoj vojny}




                     On the brown trail
                     We hear the grind of your carts
                     To our villages,
                     Laden with food
                     Laden with food
                     We know you are come to our help
                     But-
                     Why do you impress upon is
                     Your foreign happiness?
                     We know it not.
                     (Hark!
                     Carts laden with food
                     Laden with food)
                     We weep because we dont understand
                     But your gifts form into a yoke
                     The food turns into a yoke
                     (Hark!
                     Carts laden with food
                     Laden with food)
                     It is our mission to vanish
                     Grateful because of full mouths
                     Destiny-Darkness
                     Time understands
                     And ye-ye bigoted men of a moment-
                     - Wait -
                     Await your turn.


                      My slyshim, kak k nashim seleniyam,
                      Skripya, pod®ezzhayut po pyl'noj doroge
                      Vashi povozki,
                      Gruzhenye edoj,
                      Gruzhenye edoj.
                      My znaem, chto vy prishli nam na pomoshch'.
                      No
                      Zachem vy, chuzhezemcy,
                      Oshelomlyaete nas svoim dostatkom?
                      Nam on nevedom.
                      (Slyhali?
                      Povozki, gruzhenye edoj!
                      Gruzhenye edoj!)
                      My plachem ot radosti, ne ponimaya,
                      CHto vashi dary delayut nas rabami,
                      Pishcha oborachivaetsya yarmom.
                      (Slyhali?
                      Povozki, gruzhenye edoj!
                      Gruzhenye edoj!)
                      Nam prednaznacheno ischeznut' s lica zemli
                      Blagodarnymi, s zheludkami, nabitymi pishchej.
                      Nas ozhidaet T'ma.
                      Vremya podvedet itog,
                      I vy, vy, neterpelivcy,
                                       zhivushchie segodnyashnim dnem,
                      - ZHdite -
                      Prob'et vash chas.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




            All-feeling God, hear in the war-night
            The rolling voices of a nation;
            Through dusky billows of darkness
            See the flash, the under-light, of bared swords -
            -Whirling gleams like wee shells
            Deep in the streams of the universe-
            Bend and see a people, 0, God,
            A people rebuked, accursed,
            By him of the many lungs
            And by him of the bruised weary war-drum
            (The chanting disintegrate and the two-faced eagle)
            Bend and mark our steps, O, God.
            Mark well, mark well,
                            Father of the Never-Ending Circles
            And if the path, the new path, lead awry
            Then in the forest of the lost standards
            Suffer us to grope and bleed apace
            For the wisdom is thine.
            Bend and see a people, 0, God,
            A people applauded, acclaimed,
            By him of the raw red shoulders
            The manacle-marked, the thin victim
            (He lies white amid the smoking cane)

                                                            [NO STANZA BREAK]

            - And if the path, the path, leads straight -
            Then - 0, God - then bare the great bronze arm;
            Swing high the blaze of the chained stars
            And let look and heed
            (The chanting disintegrate and the two-faced eagle)
            For we go, we go in a lunge of a long blue corps
            And - to Thee we commit our lifeless sons,
            The convulsed and furious dead.
            (They shall be white amid the smoking cane)
            For, the seas shall not bar us;
            The capped mountains shall not hold us back
            We shall sweep and swarm through jungle and pool,
            Then let the savage one bend his high chin
            To see on his breast, the sullen glow of the
                                                 death-medals
            For we know and we say our gift.
            His prize is death, deep doom.
            (He shall be white amid smoking cane)


                Vsevedushchij Bog, uslysh' v nochi vojny
                Rokochushchie golosa naroda;
                Vo mrachnoj stremnine t'my
                Razglyadi vspyshki, dal'nij blesk obnazhennyh
                                                        mechej,
                Kruzhashchiesya otbleski, podobnye malen'kim
                                                        rakushkam
                Na dne vselennoj.

                Nagnis' i vglyadis' v lyudej, Bozhe,
                V lyudej, zaklejmennyh pozorom,
                Proklyatyh tysyachami ust,
                Tysyachami nadtresnutyh odnozvuchnyh barabanov
                                                        vojny
                (Poyushchaya smert' i dvuglavyj orel).
                Nagnis' i zamechaj nash put', Bozhe,
                Zamechaj, staratel'no zamechaj,
                                         Sozdatel' Zamknutyh Krugov.
                I esli tropa, novaya tropa, vedet pod otkos,
                Togda v dremuchem lesu utrachennyh orientirov
                Zastav' nas bresti na oshchup' i vskore istech'
                                                        krov'yu,
                Ibo Tvoe dostoyanie - mudrost'.
                Nagnis' i vglyadis' v lyudej, Bozhe,
                V lyudej, kotorym rukopleshchet i poet hvalu
                Von tot izmozhdennyj, iskalechennyj kandalami
                                                        stradalec
                S izranennym, krovotochashchim torsom
                (On lezhit blednyj sredi dymyashchegosya hvorosta).

                Esli zhe tropa, novaya tropa, vedet pryamo -
                Togda, Bozhe, vzmahni svoej bronzovoj rukoj
                I smeti s nebosvoda ogni sozvezdij,
                CHtoby lyudi smotreli i sodrogalis'
                (Poyushchaya smert' i dvuglavyj orel). -
                Ved' my idem, shagaem dlinnoj verenicej
                                                        golubyh polkov,
                Vveriv Tebe nashih bezdyhannyh synovej,
                Strashnyh, skryuchennyh mertvecov
                (Oni budut lezhat' blednye sredi dymyashchegosya
                                                        hvorosta).
                Morya ne ostanovyat nas,
                Zasnezhennye gory ne zastavyat povernut' nazad.
                My prorvemsya, projdem skvoz' dzhungli,
                                                        preodoleem reki,
                A potom zastavim dikarya sklonit' gorduyu golovu,
                CHtoby razglyadet' na grudi zloveshchee rdenie
                                                        medalej smerti -
                My ved' znaem i voshvalyaem nashi dary.
                Ego nagrada - smert', neotvratimaya gibel'
                (On budet lezhat' blednyj sredi dymyashchegosya
                                                        hvorosta).

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                A grey and boiling street
                Alive with rickety noise.
                Suddenly, a hearse,
                Trailed by black carriages
                Takes a deliberate way
                Through this chasm of commerce;
                And children look eagerly
                To find the misery behind the shades.
                Hired men, impatient, drive with a longing
                To reach quickly the grave-side, the end of
                                                 solemnity.

                Yes, let us have it over.
                Drive, man, drive.
                Flog your sleek-hided beasts,
                Gallop - gallop - gallop.
                Let us finish it quickly.


                   Seraya burlyashchaya ulica,
                   Neumolchnyj gul i nezdorovoe ozhivlenie.
                   Vot chernaya kareta
                   S priceplennym katafalkom
                   Koe-kak probiraetsya
                   Skvoz' eto torzhishche,
                   I deti zhadno vsmatrivayutsya,
                   Pytayas' razglyadet' Gore za zanaveskami.
                   Sluzhiteli nervnichayut, toropyatsya
                   Poskoree dobrat'sya do kladbishcha,
                                 poslednej obiteli vsego sushchego.

                   Da, davajte konchat' s etim.
                   Pogonyaj, kucher, pogonyaj,
                   Nahlestyvaj skotinku po losnyashchejsya shkure.
                   Galopom... galopom... galopom.
                   Pokonchim s etim skoree.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo

                Seraya, burlivaya ulica,
                Pul'siruyushchaya grohotom.
                Vdrug - pohoronnyj kortezh,
                Neskol'ko chernyh karet,
                S trudom prokladyvayushchih put'
                CHerez bezdnu biznesa.
                I mal'chishki pytayutsya rassmotret'
                CHuzhoe gore za zanaveskami.
                Naemnye lyudi gonyat i v hvost i v grivu,
                Toropyatsya k kladbishchu, k koncu etoj ceremonii.
                Da, konchaj eto delo.
                Goni, kucher, goni.
                Hleshchi losnyashchihsya tvarej.
                Galop - galop - galop.
                Pokonchim s etim bystree.

                                                Per. Vladimira Britanishskogo




               Bottles and bottles and bottles
               In a merry den
               And the man smiles of women
               Untruthing licence and joy.
               Countless lights
               Making oblique and confusing multiptiplication
               In mirrors
               And the light returns again to the faces.

                      * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

               A cellar, and a death-pale child.
               A woman
               Ministering commonly, degradedly,
               Without manners.
               A murmur and a silence
               Or silence and a murmur
               And then a finished silence.
               The moon beams practically upon the cheap bed.

               An hour, with it's million trinkets of joy or pain,
               Matters little in cellar or merry den
               Since all is death.


                   Butyli,butyli,butyli
                   V dome vesel'ya,
                   I muzhchina ulybaetsya damam,
                   Izobrazhaya neprinuzhdennost' i ozhivlenie.
                   Beschislennye luchi sveta,
                   Perekreshchivayas', slivayas',
                   Otrazhayas' v zerkalah,
                   Vnov' i vnov' ozaryayut lica lyudej.

                      * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

                   Podval, mertvenno-blednyj rebenok,
                   ZHenshchina u ego posteli -
                   Otchayavshayasya, padayushchaya s nog,
                   Zabyvshaya o sebe.
                   SHepot i molchanie
                   Ili molchanie i shepot,
                   A potom - vechnoe molchanie,
                   Luna, bezuchastno osveshchayushchaya uboguyu krovat'...

                   Odin chas s ego besschetnymi mgnoven'yami
                                               radosti i boli,
                   Nemnogo on znachit v podvale i v dome vesel'ya
                   S teh por kak vse podvlastno Smerti.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                    intermingled,
                    There come in wild revelling strains
                    Black words, stinging
                    That murder flowers
                    The horror of profane speculation.

                   ...v besporyadke
                   Vyplesnulis' radostnym bujnym potokom
                   Zlye slova, zhalyashchie
                   Cvety-ubijcy,
                   Rozhdennye uzhasnymi razdum'yami zabluzhdayushchegosya.




                            The patent of a lord
                            And the bangle of a bandit
                            Make argument
                            Which God solves
                            Only after lighting more candles.


                            Mantiya markiza
                            I kandaly karmannika -
                            |to argumenty,
                            Kotorye Bog rassmatrivaet
                            Tol'ko posle togo,
                            Kak zazhzhet pobol'she svechej.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo




                       Tell me not in joyous numbers
                       We can make our lives sublime
                       By - well, at least, not by
                       Dabbling much in rhyme.


                       He tverdi v strofah pompeznyh:
                       "Vsem k Velich'yu put' otkryt!"
                       Vsem li? Dazhe tem, kto sotni
                       Prepustyh stihov plodit?

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo





                  My cross!

                  Your cross?
                  The real cross
                  Is made of pounds,
                  Dollars or francs.
                  Here I bear my palms for the silly nails
                  To teach the lack
                  - The great pain of lack -
                  Of coin.


                    Moj krest!

                    Tvoj krest?
                    Nastoyashchij krest
                    Sdelan iz frankov, funtov,
                    Dollarov.
                    Vot ya protyagivayu ladoni -
                    Protknite ih gvozdyami,
                    CHtoby stala mne vedoma krestnaya muka
                    - Velikaya krestnaya muka -
                    Bezdenezh'e.

                                                  Per. Anatoliya Kudryavickogo


       Primechaniya

     Izbrannye stihotvoreniya Stivena Krejna publikovalis' v sbornike "Poeziya
SSHA"  (M.,  1982)  v  perevodah  A. Sergeeva i V. Britanishskogo. V nastoyashchem
izdanii   vpervye   predstavleno   polnoe  sobranie  stihotvorenij  Krejna v
perevodah na russkij yazyk.
     Numeraciya  stihotvorenij  i  raspredelenie ih po razdelam sootvetstvuyut
naibolee  polnomu  i kriticheskomu izdaniyu stihov Krejna The Poems of Stephen
Crane.  A  critical  edition by Joseph Katz. New York, 1966 (dalee v tekste:
Dzhozef Katc).
     Stihotvoreniya  1 - 68 vpervye opublikovany v knige The Black Riders and
Other  Lines  by  Stephen  Crane.  Boston,  1895  (dalee  v  tekste: "CHernye
vsadniki").

     1. V "Amerikanskoj antologii 1783-1893 |dmunda Klarensa Stedmena (1900;
dalee  v tekste: "Amerikanskaya antologiya") stihotvorenie imeet nazvanie "The
Black  Riders"  ("CHernye vsadniki"), V sentyabre 1894 goda Krejn utverdilsya v
reshenii  dat'  eto  nazvanie  vsej  knige stihov, gotovivshejsya v eto vremya k
izdaniyu.  Pervaya  stroka  stihotvoreniya  v pervonachal'nom variante vyglyadela
tak:  "Black  Riders  rode  forth". Stihotvorenie prinyato schitat' parafrazom
biblejskogo teksta o chetyreh vsadnikah Apokalipsisa (Otkroveniya, 6: 2, 4, 5,
8),  hotya  Thomas  Beer v knige "Stephen Crane: A study in American Letters"
(New  York,  1928;  dalee  v  tekste:  Tomas  Bir) rasskazyvaet o tom, chto v
detstve Stiven Krejn videl son o "chernyh vsadnikah na chernyh konyah, mchashchihsya
k nemu ot linii priboya".

     6.   Krejnovskaya   versiya   sotvoreniya   mira;   nado  skazat',  ves'ma
ironicheskaya.

     10.  Tomas Bir privodit v svoej knige tekst pis'ma Krejna k Helen Trent
(predpolozhitel'no  ot  20  sentyabrya  1891  goda), v kotorom mozhno prosledit'
analogii  so  stihotvoreniem  "Takih krasivyh ruk, kak u vas, net ni u kogo.
Vam  sledovalo  by  vsegda  hodit' v plat'e bez rukavov. Esli b ya mog vsegda
videt' vashi ruki! Pust' togda lishus' ya poslednih nadezhd, pust' ischeznet ves'
mir - kakaya raznica? Ne prihodilos' li vam vo sne provalivat'sya v bezdnu, no
ne boyat'sya etogo, potomu chto ryadom s vami tot, kto vas ohranyaet?.."

     12.  |pigraf  -  parafraz  biblejskogo teksta (Ishod, 20: 5): "...ibo ya
Gospod',  Bog  tvoj,  Bog  revnitel',  nakazyvayushchij  detej  za vinu otcov do
tret'ego i chetvertogo roda, nenavidyashchih menya".

     22.  V "Amerikanskoj antologii" imeet nazvanie "Ancestry" ("Predki" ili
"Proishozhdenie").

     25. V "Amerikanskoj antologii" imeet nazvanie "Why?" ("Pochemu?").

     27.    V    "Amerikanskoj    antologii"    imeet   nazvanie   "Content"
("Udovletvorennyj").

     33.  Edinstvennoe  stihotvorenie  Krejna,  voshedshee  v oba prizhiznennyh
sbornika  ego stihov. Issledovateli ego tvorchestva do sih por sporyat, byl li
on  nastol'ko  zabyvchiv, chto upustil iz vidu fakt publikacii stihotvoreniya v
pervoj  knige,  ili  ono  popalo  vo  vtoroj  ego sbornik stihov v poslednij
moment vmesto kakogo-to isklyuchennogo iz nego stihotvoreniya.

     45.  Krejn  ironicheski  perefraziruet nazvanie izvestnoj v Novoj Anglii
eshche  i  v ego vremya knigi "Novoanglijskij bukvar', ili Moloko dlya mladencev,
izvlechennoe  iz  soscov  oboih svyashchennyh zavetov", sostavlennoj v 80-h godah
XVII veka i pereizdavavshejsya desyatki raz (primechanie V. L.Britanishskogo).

     65. V "Amerikanskoj antologii" - pod nazvaniem "Scaped" ("Uletevshie"),

     69-73.  Uil'yams  i Starret, sostaviteli bibliografii publikacij Krejna,
vyskazali  predpolozhenie,  chto  nastoyashchij  cikl  stihotvorenij pervonachal'no
prednaznachalsya  dlya publikacii v knige "CHernye vsadniki", odnako Dzhozef Katc
schitaet  eto  predpolozhenie nedostatochno obosnovannym. Pervaya publikaciya - v
zhurnale "Bookman" (maj 1896 goda).

     74.  Vpervye  - v zhurnale "Philistine" (iyun' 1898 goda). V knige "Pesni
ispano-amerikanskoj  vojny.  Polnoe sobranie stihov, opublikovannyh v perio-
dike  vo  vremya vojny s Ispaniej", sostavlennoj Sidneem A. Uizerbi (Detrojt,
1898)   stihotvorenie   imeet   nazvanie  "The  Blue  Battalions"  ("Golubye
batal'ony").  V  sostavlennom samim Krejnom spiske publikacij svoih stihov v
periodike  (dalee  -  "Spisok-1")  -  to zhe nazvanie. Pri posmertnom izdanii
stihov  Krejna stihotvorenie 74 neodnokratno vklyuchalos' v tekst knigi "Vojna
dobraya".  Golubye  batal'ony  -  goluboj cvet byl u mundirov armii severyan v
amerikanskoj grazhdanskoj vojne 1861-1865 gg.

     75. Vpervye - v zhurnale "Philistine" v dekabre 1898 goda (na oblozhke).

     76-112  -  stihotvoreniya  raznyh let, vposledstvii sobrannye Krejnom vo
vtoruyu  svoyu  knigu  stihov  "War  is Kind by Stephen Crane". New York, 1899
(dalee v tekste: "Vojna dobraya").

     76.  Vpervye  -  v  zhurnale "Bookman" v fevrale 1896 goda pod nazvaniem
"War  is  Kind"  ("Vojna  dobraya").  Tak  zhe  nazyvalos'  ono  i  v odnom iz
sobstvennoruchno  sostavlennyh  Krejnom  spiskov svoih stihotvorenij (dalee v
tekste:  "Spisok-2").  Po  mneniyu  Dzhozefa Katca, napisano v pervoj polovine
1895  goda.  Kak  i v predydushchem sbornike stihov, pervoe stihotvorenie novoj
knigi  dalo  ej  nazvanie. Darya ekzemplyar svoego romana "Alyj znak doblesti"
Uil'yamu   Dinu   Houelsu,  Krejn  na  frontispise  knigi  napisal  eto  svoe
stihotvorenie  i  postavil  pod nim datu: 17 avgusta 1895 goda, hotya podaril
knigu,  ochevidno,  tol'ko  cherez  neskol'ko mesyacev; vozmozhno dazhe, k Novomu
godu.  Dzhozef  Katc  schitaet, chto ukazannaya data ne yavlyaetsya datoj napisaniya
stihotvoreniya.

     77.  CHernovik  datirovan  28  dekabrya  1895  goda,  hotya stihotvorenie,
predpolozhitel'no,  napisano  neskol'ko ran'she. Pervaya publikaciya - v zhurnale
"Philistine"  v  fevrale  1896  goda.  V  odnom  iz  chernovikov  Krejna  i v
"Spiske-2"  imeetsya zaglavie: "The Shell and the Pines" ("Rakushka i sosny");
v  "Spiske-1" zaglavie: "The Sea to the Pines" ("Okean - ili more - beseduet
s sosnami").

     78.  Odno iz rannih stihotvorenij Krejna. Pervaya publikaciya - v zhurnale
"Philistine" v aprele 1896 goda. V "Spiske-1" zagolovok: "The Sea - Point of
View"  ("More s raznyh tochek zreniya"). Isklyucheno izdatelyami iz teksta pervoj
knigi   stihov  Krejna  (sm.  predislovie).  Interesno,  chto  Krejn  v  etom
stihotvorenii kak by predugadyvaet, chto popadaet v korablekrushenie.

     79, 80. Vpervye - v knige "Vojna dobraya".

     81.  Napisano  do  oktyabrya  1896  goda.  Vpervye opublikovano v zhurnale
"Bookman" v oktyabre 1896 goda pod nazvaniem "Lines" ("Stroki"), V "Spiske-2"
nazvanie: "I explain the path of a ship" ("YA ob®yasnyayu put' korablya"). Melvin
SHoberlin  v  1947  godu  opublikoval stihotvornyj otryvok iz pis'ma Krejna k
Kore |tel' Styuart (budushchej Kore Krejn):

                  Lyubov' prihodit
                  Kak vysokaya bystraya ten' korablya v nochi.
                  Na mgnovenie -
                  Muzyka vodyanyh vodovorotov,
                  Vahtennyj kolokol,
                  Byt' mozhet, ch'i-to vykriki,
                  Verenica zolotyh otbleskov -
                  I sudno tonet v tainstve tumana.

                  Potom - tishina,
                  Samo voploshchenie tishiny -
                  Molchanie morya v nochi.

                                                         Per. A Kudryavickogo

     Pis'mo  Kore  napisano  v  yanvare  1897  goda.  Stihotvorenie iz pis'ma
(razbivka  anglijskogo  teksta na stroki sdelana pervym publikatorom) imeet,
bez  somneniya,  obshchie  cherty  so  stihotvoreniem  81.  V dekabre 1896 goda v
zhurnale  "Bookman"  byla  pomeshchena  stat'ya  kritika U. S Bina "Stihi Stivena
Kreina",  vostorzhenno  hvalebnaya,  no  vyderzhannaya,  po  opredeleniyu Dzhozefa
Katca,  "v  ekstravagantnom duhe"; pomimo prochego, tam soderzhitsya parodiya na
stihotvorenie  81.  "I  explain  the  crooked track of a coon at night" ("YA
ob®yasnyayu  petlyayushchij sled enota v nochi"). Horosho hot', sled enota, a ne zapah
skunsa!

     82.   Vpervye   napechatano  v  roskoshno  izdannom...  menyu  (!)  obeda,
ustroennogo  redakciej  zhurnala  "Philistine" v chest' Stivena Krejna. ZHurnal
zatem opublikoval stihotvorenie v yanvarskom nomere za 1896 god. V "Spiske-1"
nazvanie: "The White Birches" ("Belye berezy").

     83.  Vpervye  -  v  zhurnale "The Roycroft Quarterly" v mae 1896 goda. V
"Spiske-1" nazvanie. "The Knight and His Horse" ("Rycar' i ego kon'").

     84.  Vpervye  -  v  knige  "Vojna  dobraya".  V  "Spiske-1" i "Spiske-2"
nazvanie: "The Candid Man" ("Pryamodushnyj chelovek").

     85.  Vpervye  -  v zhurnale "Philistine" v aprele 1898 goda na chetvertoj
stranice oblozhki.

     86.  Vpervye  -  v  zhurnale  "Philistine" v mae 1898 goda pod nazvaniem
"Lines" ("Stroki").

     87. Vpervye - v knige "Vojna dobraya",

     88.  Vpervye  - tam zhe. V "Amerikanskoj antologii" - pod nazvaniem "The
Wayfarer" ("Putnik").

     89.  Vpervye - v zhurnale "Philistine" v dekabre 1895 goda. V "Spiske-1"
pod  nazvaniem "The City" ("Gorod"); v "Spiske-2" - pod nazvaniem "The Noise
of the City" ("Gorodskoj shum").

     90.  Napisano  ne pozzhe nachala 1897 goda, veroyatno, v gorodke Hartford,
shtat  N'yu-Jork,  gde  brat  Kreina  Uil'yam byl sud'ej. "V Hartforde ya izuchayu
nuvorishej.  Tamoshnij  klub  ot  menya  vsego  v  treh milyah, i tam popadayutsya
nekotorye  lyubopytnye  obrazchiki  etoj  porody  lyudej",  -  pishet  Krejn  11
fevralya  1896 goda Nelli Kruz, devushke iz Ogajo, s kotoroj on poznakomilsya v
nachale 1895 goda i za kotoroj uhazhival. Stihotvorenie vpervye opublikovano v
knige "Vojna dobraya".

     91.  Rannee stihotvorenie Krejna. Isklyucheno izdatelyami iz knigi "CHernye
vsadniki" (sm. predislovie). Vpervye opublikovano v knige "Vojna dobraya".

     92.  V  chernovike  stoit data napisaniya: 5 dekabrya 1897 goda. Ochevidno,
stihotvorenie  -  plod  userdnogo  izucheniya  nuvorishej  v  Hartforde. Pervaya
publikaciya - v knige "Vojna dobraya".

     93.  Vpervye  -  v zhurnale "Chap-book" v marte 1896 goda pod zagolovkom
"Verses"  ("Strofy"). V "Amerikanskoj antologii" - pod nazvaniem "The Peaks"
("Gory");  v  "Spiske-1"  -  pod  nazvaniem "The Prayer of the Mountains", v
"Spiske-2"  -  pod  nazvaniem  "The  Prayer  of the Peaks" (i to, i drugoe -
"Mol'ba gor"). Odin iz chernovikov otpechatan na pishushchej mashinke. Otmetim, chto
Stiven   Krejn   -  odin  iz  pervyh  pisatelej,  nachavshih  osvaivat'  novoe
izobretenie.

     94.  Vpervye - v zhurnale "Philistine" v avguste 1895 goda. V "Spiske-1"
- pod zagolovkom "The Death-demon" ("Demon smerti").

     95.  Vpervye  - v zhurnale "Philistine" v fevrale 1898 goda na chetvertoj
stranice  oblozhki  pod  nazvaniem  "Some  Things"  (chto  mozhno perevesti kak
"Nekotorye podrobnosti").

     96-97. Vpervye - v knige "Vojna dobraya".

     98.   Vpervye  -  tam  zhe.  V  "Amerikanskoj  antologii"  stihotvorenie
nazyvaetsya "The Violets" ("Fialki").

     99.  Pod e 99 v knige Dzhozefa Katca povtorno pomeshcheno stihotvorenie 33,
vklyuchennoe  Krejnom  v oba prizhiznennyh sbornika svoih stihov i zanimayushchee v
knige "Vojna dobraya" imenno eto mesto.

     100. Vpervye - v knige "Vojna dobraya".

     101. Vpervye - v zhurnale "Philistine" v oktyabre 1895 goda. V "Spiske-1"
i "Spiske-2" - pod nazvaniem "The Lantern Song" ("Pesn' fonarikov").

     102. Vpervye - v knige "Vojna dobraya".

     103.  Napisano,  ochevidno,  v  1898  godu  na  Kube - Krejn osveshchal hod
Ispano-amerikanskoj vojny dlya nekotoryh periodicheskih izgnij. Interesno, chto
Krejn neskol'ko raz menyal poryadok strof v stihotvorenii, poka ne ostanovilsya
na okonchatel'nom variante, opublikovannom v knige "Vojna dobraya", chto i bylo
pervoj publikaciej stihotvoreniya.

     104-112. Vpervye - v knige "Vojna dobraya".

     113.  Issledovatel'  tvorchestva  Krejna Deniel Dzh. Hoffman schitaet, chto
stihotvorenie   napisano   ne   pozdnee   iyunya  1898  goda.  Rukopis'  etogo
stihotvoreniya,  kak  i  dvuh  drugih  (114, 775), byla najdena v 1928 godu v
Dzheksonvile  sredi  prochih  bumag Krejna. Posle smerti poeta ego vdova, Kora
Krejn, otdala rukopisi odnomu iz ego druzej, obeshchavshemu ih opublikovat', no,
ochevidno,  etogo  ne  sdelavshemu.  Obnaruzhil  ih  Karl  Bonenberger, mladshij
bibliotekar'  mestnoj biblioteki. Vse tri stihotvoreniya vpervye opublikovany
v   zhurnale   "Bookman"  v  aprele  1928  goda  pod  obshchim  zagolovkom  "Tri
stihotvoreniya Stivena Krejna".

     114.  Analiz  chernovika,  provedennyj  Dzhozefom  Katcem,  pokazal,  chto
stihotvorenie  napisano osen'yu 1897 goda. Pervaya publikaciya - sm. primechanie
113. V "Spiske-2" nazvanie povtoryaet pervuyu stroku stihotvoreniya.

     115. Pervaya publikaciya - sm. primechanie 113.

     116.  R.  V. Stelmen datiruet bloknotnye zapisi, gde vpervye poyavlyaetsya
chernovoj  variant nastoyashchego stihotvoreniya, 1893-1894 godami. 22 noyabrya 1931
goda  Harvi  Tejlor  v  rubrike "Knizhnoe obozrenie" gazety "N'yu-Jork Geral'd
Tribyun"  (gde,  kak  izvestno, rabotal ran'she sam Krejn) ob®yavlyaet o nahodke
bol'shoj pachki neopublikovannyh rukopisej Krejna: zametok, rasskazov, stihov,
dramaticheskih  otryvkov,  materialov  raboty  nad  povest'yu  "Meggi, ulichnaya
devushka"  i  romanom  "Alyj  znak  doblesti".  Tejlor  otpechatal  100  kopij
stihotvoreniya  116  i razoslal ih druz'yam. V fevrale 1934 goda stihotvorenie
napechatano v al'manahe "The Golden Book".

     117.  Napisano,  ochevidno,  v  nachale  1899  goda.  Sluzhit  epigrafom k
rasskazu  "The  Clan  of  No-name"  ("Bezymyannyj  rod")  iz sbornika voennyh
rasskazov  "Rany  pod  dozhdem",  vpervye  izdannogo v 1900 godu n'yu-jorkskim
izdatelem Frederikom A. Stoksom.

     118.  Po  mneniyu Korvina Knepa Linsona, druga poeta i avtora knigi "Moj
Stiven Krejn", eto stihotvorenie - odno iz pervyh, napisannyh poetom. Linton
datiruet  ego  dekabrem  1892  goda.  Vpervye  opublikovano  v  sostavlennoj
Denielom  Dzh.  Hoffmanom knige "Poeziya Stivena Krejna" (N'yu-Jork, 1957); tam
zhe  sostoyalas'  pervaya  publikaciya  stihotvorenij 119-135. Motiv obrashcheniya k
pustomu  koshel'ku uzhe vstrechalsya v literature; v chastnosti, u Dzheffri CHosera
("CHoser zhaluetsya na zhizn' svoemu koshel'ku").

     119.  Odno iz stihotvorenij, isklyuchennyh izdatelyami iz sbornika "CHernye
vsadniki".  V perepechatannom Krejnom nachisto tekste stihotvoreniya vycherknuty
tri   poslednie   stroki,   kotorye  pri  pervoj  publikacii  popali  lish' v
kommentarii:

                     Ved' puty podobayut lish' obez'yanam.
                     Kak zhe trusliv
                     Tot, kto ostavlyaet golubku v silkah!

     Schitaetsya,  chto stihotvorenie otrazhaet istoriyu vzaimootnoshenij Krejna s
Koroj,  kotoraya  do  Krejna  byla  zamuzhem  za  drugim  chelovekom. Nekotorye
issledovateli  predpolagayut  dazhe,  chto  ona vyshla zamuzh za Krejna, tak i ne
oformiv  razvod  s  pervym  muzhem. Tema "lyubovnogo treugol'nika" vsegda byla
aktual'noj dlya Stivena Krejna.

     120.  Odno  iz  rannih  stihotvorenij Krejna, isklyuchennyh izdatelyami iz
knigi  "CHernye  vsadniki" (sm. predislovie). Poet pereosmyslivaet biblejskij
epizod  -  iskushenie  Adama zanimaet mesto iskusheniya Evy. Po Krejnu, chelovek
sozdan  Bogom  iznachal'no  so  vsemi  ego slabostyami i vozhdeleniyami; esli zhe
chelovek  sumeet  izbavit'sya  ot  svoih  "rodimyh pyaten", to stanet vroven' s
Bogom.

     121. Po mneniyu Dzhozefa Katca, napisano do 1897 goda.

     122.  Napisano  togda  zhe.  V "Spiske-2" zagolovok "If you would seek a
friend"  ("Esli  ty  ishchesh'  druga"). Dzhozef Katc predpolagaet, chto eto mozhet
byt' stihotvorenie "The Reformer", tekst kotorogo byl poteryan samim Krejnom,
o  chem  tot  soobshchil  v  pis'me Hemlinu Garlendu v pis'me ot 9 maya 1894 goda
(Garlendu stihotvorenie ochen' ponravilos', i on ochen' sozhalel o ego utrate).

     123.  Po  mneniyu  Dzhozefa  Katca,  napisano  do 1897 goda. V "Spiske-2"
zagolovok:  "Oh  night  dismal,  night  glorious"  ("O  nochnaya  t'ma, nochnoe
velikolepie") .

     124.   Napisano   v   aprele-mae   1894   goda  kak  epigraf  k  stat'e
"Blagodarnost',  chuvstvo  dolga",  kotoruyu  Deniel Dzh. Hoffman opublikoval v
1957  godu  v odnotomnike izbrannoj prozy Krejna (bez epigrafa). Dzhozef Katc
schitaet  stat'yu  slaboj  i  zasluzhivayushchej  vnimaniya tol'ko potomu, chto Krejn
predposlal ej stihotvorenie.

     125.  Po  mneniyu  Deniela Dzh. Hoffmana, stihotvorenie napisano v 1895
godu posle poezdki Krejna v Meksiku.

     126. Predpolozhitel'no, napisano v marte 1896 goda. Interesno sovpadenie
nastroeniya  i  dazhe  teksta  s  poslednim  iz pisem Krejna k Nelli Kruz (sm.
primechanie 90). Otchayavshis' pokorit' devushku, Krejn pishet ej: "Dorogaya, mne v
poslednee    vremya    stali   tak   nravit'sya   kladbishcha   -   bezmyatezhnost'
bezboleznennoj  konchiny, beznadezhnost', polnoe otsutstvie strastej, zabvenie
grehov,  otreshenie  ot  proklyatyh nadezhd, chto pyshut zlatym plamenem v nochi i
zastavlyayut  cheloveka  sbivat'sya s nog, no pri dnevnom svete zhiznennogo opyta
okazyvayutsya hitroumnymi lovushkami, kotorye rasstavlyaet nam voobrazhenie. Esli
i  est'  v  zhizni radost', ya ne mogu ee oshchutit'. Vy sprosite: a budushchee? Dlya
menya  budushchee  chrevato  novymi  tyazhkimi  ispytaniyami,  konfliktami,  putami,
kotorye  nakladyvaet  na  nas  dolg.  |to  staroe terpkoe vino, kotoroe bogi
prigotovili dlya smertnyh. Kuvshiny otchayan'ya..."

     127.  Napisano  v  konce  1898  ili  v  nachale  1899  goda, kogda Krejn
vozvratilsya  s  teatra  voennyh  dejstvij. Vozmozhno dazhe, napisano v Anglii,
kuda  on  priehal  v  fevrale  1899  goda.  Neistovstvuyut pri vide ispanca -
stihotvorenie  napisano  v gody ispano-amerikanskoj vojny, tipichnoj vojny za
obladanie  koloniyami,  vyzvavshej  v  oficial'nyh  i  delovyh  krugah Ameriki
vsplesk nevidannogo do teh por shovinizma.

     128. Napisano, veroyatno, v konce 1898 goda.

     129.  V  mashinopisnoj  kopii  stihotvoreniya  rukoyu Kory Krejn napisano:
"Rukopis'  sego  obnaruzhena  v  sedel'noj  sumke  Stivena  Krejna  vo  vremya
poslednej  vojny  s  Ispaniej". Sumki obnaruzhil CHarl'z Majklson iz "N'yu-Jork
Dzhornel"  - on i poslal ih Kore, pripisav, chto tam imeetsya "rukopis' boevogo
gimna,  ochevidno,  napisannogo  vashim muzhem, kogda on byl na Kube". Majklson
predlozhil   stihotvorenie   "Pell-Mell   Gazett",   no   ta  otkazalas'  ego
publikovat',  ochevidno,  raspoznav  gor'kuyu  ironiyu  i dazhe izdevku, kotorye
prisutstvuyut  v  tekste.  Pripiska  Majklsona  daet  vozmozhnost'  datirovat'
stihotvorenie  1898  godom.  V  knige  Deniela  Dzh. Hoffmana "Poeziya Stivena
Krejna" - pod nazvaniem "The Battle Hymn" ("Boevoj gimn").

     130.  Mashinopisnyj  ekzemplyar  stihotvoreniya otpechatan Krejnom v nachale
1899 goda.

     131. CHernovik napechatan Krejnom na mashinke v nachale 1899 goda.

     133. Krejn otpechatal stihotvorenie v nachale 1899 goda.

     134.  Napisano  v  konce  1899  ili  v  nachale  1900  goda.  Parodiya na
izvestnejshee  stihotvorenie  amerikanskogo  poeta  Genri Uodsuorta Longfello
(1807-1882)  "Psalom  zhizni"  (sr.  v  perevode  Ivana  Bunina: "Ne tverdi v
strofah unylyh...").

     135.  Mashinopisnye ekzemplyary (ih dva) otpechatany, po vsej veroyatnosti,
v 1899-1900 godah.

                                                           A. I. Kudryavickij


Last-modified: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 05:49:28 GMT
Ocenite etot tekst: