to A. Nazarenko

"The festival had dispersed. I saw only a small line of
people going off towards the forest."

(Noted in 1956)

With the sway of the forest's hem
the line departed — smiles among them — vanished
taking with them the singing also
step by step departed with the sway of work with hands
leaving me for just a short time
with the flutter of the forest's edge:

— no nothing will explode I shall be stifled in calm:

oh god how calm is my God
to fall silent so openly! —

simply with such simple
covers of light of clay concealing blood:

to flash into the forest — finish sparkling as in heat haze
in that it only remains to me
to dimly appear in faces:

that give birth to earth! — to heaven:

(here I must forget and of poor things be silent more poorly:
this power like things unneeded is too weak even to die: it is
the wind rustling long since in destructions — even blood is
not needed: to be spilt as a sign — and such a waste place —
an indifferent eye! — and it will be earth more and more — for day):

and so it is time to awake
for more than the God of stillness:

for the phantom of light it is time to awake
for the light of absence of brows — unveiling us
with peals of fire:

what then? we shall sing to the end: expecting nothing
so again to awake as to water
"oh line" to the walking-line:

— God take at least this as living

oh it must wake (and the forest closes):
in quiet weakness the weeping-line! —

you — who have not finished singing

1983

Translated from Russian by Peter France