I can find no peace from love's distress...

I can find no rest from love.

Day and night—I am always on the move.

Shakespeare, Sonnet 27

As soon as it grows dark, I go to the square,

where cheerful ephebes sit in little flocks

on benches… and, after lingering,

I let my gaze settle on someone…

And this someone—Vova or Vanya,

Valera, Vladislav or Vadim—

will smile at me and gracefully rise.

That's it, essentially…

I follow him.

The boy has a short haircut,

the tempting roundness of hemispheres…

Hey, you seductive boy!..

I'll catch up with you now, you rascal,

and… without pretense, you'll talk business

with me about the price, —

I'll count out the bucks right away, as if

the very thought of money is unbearable to me, —

unmet halves of someone,

tired of waiting for the only one…

Yes, I am alone…

Of course, with Vaseline…

Three stops…

… An old bed,

a witness to moans and lamentations,

will shelter us… I will embrace you—

at the crossroads

of meetings and partings

we will plunge into waking dreams…

Yesterday it was Sasha,

who between two couplings

told me his story…

The day before yesterday it was Vasya… or Vitya?..

Today it's you, my boy…

I love you!

I walk through life from nowhere…

You stride through life to nowhere…

We are pilgrims seeking a miracle…

But there is no miracle…

And again, as always,

forgetting the rate, kissing your lips,

not thinking where we met,

all night long I will be Hadrian,

imagining that you are my Antinous…

You will say

your name is Sergei…

or Denis, — and one, and two, and three

in bed we will warm each other

with the breath of an unmet love, —

all night I will caress your body…

with my lips I will crush your lips…

You will skillfully work off your payment…

The night will end… I will break the embrace…

You will appear for a moment from nowhere,

only to evaporate again into nowhere,

and I will not hold you back—

you are not a miracle…

And again, as always,

evening will come—I will go to the square,

where carefree ephebes sit

in cheerful flocks…

and, after lingering,

I will let my gaze rest on someone…