The Song poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
Sailor, my dear, my heaven-made spouse! There is one thing that I beg of you, man: Kiss any strangers, and give them your flowers, love many women. But, pray, don’t love one. These are the words that I send with my letter, piercing land after land they will moan; stay there as long […]
The Parabolic Ballad poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
My life, like a rocket, makes a parabola flying in darkness, — no rainbow for traveler. There once lived an artist, red-haired Gauguin, he was a bohemian, a former tradesman. To get to the Louvre from the lanes of Montmartre he circled around as far as Sumatra! He had to abandon the […]
Self-Portrait poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
Unshaven and thin, with an angular face He’s lain on my mattress for several days. A cast-iron shadow hangs down the stair, the lips, huge and bulging, smuggle and flare. “Hello, Russian poets, — his voice sounds wistful – shall I give you a razor or, maybe, a pistol? Are you a genius? […]
The AntiWorlds poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
There is Bukashkin, our neighbor, in underpants of blotting paper, and, like balloons, the Antiworlds hang up above him in the vaults. Up there, like a magic daemon, he smartly rules the Universe, Antibukashkin lies there giving Lollobrigida a caress. The Anti-great-academician has got a blotting paper vision. Long live creative […]
Russian-American Romance poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
In my land and yours they do hit the hay and sleep the whole night in a similar way. There’s the golden Moon with a double shine. It lightens your land and it lightens mine. At the same low price, that is for free, there’s the sunrise for you and the sunset […]
Rubber Souls poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
I hate you, rubber souls, you seem to stretch to fit any regime. They’ll give a yawning smile, stretched wide, and, like an octopus, they’ll draw you tight. A rubber man is an elusive rogue: a fist gets sucked into the bog. The rubber editor is scared of , the author […]
Modern Nature poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
Red cows on the asphalt road have settled. Lazing on the asphalt pan they lie. We drive them round for cows are sacred! They are loyal to the highway, we wonder why. “Old herdsman, we want our question answered: Why have the cows gone mad?” “God forbid! The point is that flies do […]
My Friend’s Light poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
I’m waiting for my friend. The gate’s unlocked. The banisters are lit so he can walk. I’m waiting for my friend. The times are dull and tough. Anticipation lightens our life. He’s driving down the Ring Road, at full speed, the way I did it when he was in need. He […]
Her Story poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
I started up the engine and I lingered. Where should I go? The night was fine, I figured. The bonnet trembled like a nervous hound. I shivered. Night lit up the houses around. The Balzac age, I felt its burning pain, Chilled to the bone, I couldn’t hold my own. The age of balsam […]
Fate poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
Fate is above me. Why should I browse? Sleeping in dosses, an outcast, I rove. Grief is a cellar, that opens in every old house. A ditch is below me and fate is above. What did I want? Well, a life of contentment. What did I get? Just a coffin and wreath… Under […]
Abuses and Awards poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
A poet can’t be in disfavour, he needs no awards, no fame. A star has no setting whatever, no black nor a golden frame. A star can’t be killed with a stone, or award, or that kind of stuff. He’ll bear the blow of a fawner lamenting he’s not big enough. What […]
A Ballad (Thesis for a Doctor’s Degree) poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
My doc announced yesterday : “You may have talent, though it’s hidden, your beak, however, is frost-bitten, so stick at home on a cold day”. The nose, eh? As irretrievable as time, conforming to the laws of medicine, your nose, like that of any person, keep growing steadily, with triumph! The noses of celebrities, of […]
Putin, Our Savior and Dear Friend
Putin, you are our savior and friend, You bring joy to children and adults. Oh, your laurels of fame and success, You give wise guidance to everyone. Great leader of our wretched people, Your shoulders bear the burden of fatherly care. You led our country to peace and prosperity, So, we have become a […]
America
She killed negroes For fun And that tree still grows She never won A real war She hanged and burned alive The planetary whore And sent post cards To her bestial subhuman children With whom she copulates Rejects of mankind Planetary refuse She has so far escaped From justice She murdered Filipinos She is the […]
The Bakchesarian Fountain poem – Alexander Pushkin
A poem by Alexander Pushkin – Pouchkine, Pooshkin (1799-1837), in English translation A TALE OF THE TAURIDE. Mute sat Giray, with downcast eye, As though some spell in sorrow bound him, His slavish courtiers thronging nigh, In sad expectance stood around him. The lips of all had silence sealed, Whilst, bent on him, each […]
Émigrés by Anna Barkova
edited, unrhymed translation by © Евгений Сухарников, Fledermaus, Poetry Monster, 2021, Russian original Émigrés by Anna Barkova Émigrés both internal and external, We, eternal migrants on the go, Though we are keen to lull our own feelings, Friendships fade and enmity grows. Émigrés both internal and external, No one waits for us or wants us […]