Memory of the Future
On the green lawn, boys of the same age,
chasing each other, frolic with all their might, —
"Short Course" and other absurd books
are unknown to them… and — boys, as if in paradise,
by the winding river, forgetting everything in the world —
drunk with freedom — they grab for…
and, fooling around, laugh like little children, —
their laughter is a clear chime and their eyes are beautiful.
Oh, happy tribe, born after
revolutions… Chekists… GULAG… the Central Committee! —
long-legged boys, how you resemble
the immortal youth of Hellas… A hand
tremblingly lowers — lower and lower…
The sun freezes at its zenith — so hot is the passion!
Lips approach — closer and closer…
… Puritan fathers, do not judge rashly!
Do not scold them, the young — absurd books
have not been read by them, and that is their essence.
Envy them, blue-eyed boys!
Perhaps this is — their Fate, and this is — their Path.
Ahead of them will be victories, losses,
as for all who live on this Earth…
but for now they are young, slightly angular,
and carefree, and happy… — as if on fire,
their bodies blaze! How sweet it is —
by the winding, whispering something river
to plunge headlong into the honeyed summer…
You who have not known, hide your labels!
Is it criminal — with a running start into carefreeness
to dive, as into water, and fall into the sky,
reflected in the river… Oh, if there is Eternity,
then it is — the genuine power of these feelings.
The boys of the same age have fallen over backwards…
The river wave whispers something to the bank…
The scent of honey… — Like a cosmic boat,
the Earth sails by, and all around — silence…
What do the happy care for the grimaces of an absurd era!
Their souls slowly soar upward…
and the boys, like eternal young gods,
surrender to LOVE, — it is called: LIFE…
So envy their chaste passion,
making a breakthrough toward the myths of Hellas, —
puritan fathers, do not destroy their happiness,
do not rush to brand their ardent impulse!
Even if the enchantment passes… if
their summer sinks into Lethe — oh, anything can be! —
they will still remember how, together,
at the dawn of their lives, they knew how to love…
(1991)