Friday, January 7, 2022

Andrei Bely

File:Andrei Bely 1933.jpg


A hooligan`s little song

Once there lived both he and I;
To be friends we had to die.

Skeleton, he'd visit me...
Winters, summers... frequently.

Simple heart and solid bone;
We strolled this graveyard alone.

And with laughter he’d recall
That gay day: our funeral.

How they bore box behind box...
How the priest tagged... over rocks...

Censer smoke filled up the nose.
Fat coachmen made coffin rows.

"Rest with all saints and the Lord!"
They pressed us down with a board.

Once there lived he and I... long...
Til-ly, til-ly, til-ly dong.

        Translated by Vladimir Markov and Merrill Sparks

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