Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
The end of the poem “Elena and Leon”:
People caught in the pool of mortal life,
It is not internal baggage that is needed, but external brilliance.
How can I drink water from a dirty puddle
And not to notice a living spring nearby?
How can one not strive for eternal life?
How can one not desire imperishable joy?
We are looking for a holiday in the physical world,
But only paradise can give true grace.
FRAGMENT: “SWEET MARTYR”
I apparently don’t deserve it
neither here nor after the rewards of death
and, weighing the horror lived,
I admit sinful sadness without debate.
Warm rays of love and happiness.
They rarely looked at my destiny.
I tried to light hundreds of lamps in the hall
a dim light came on in the closet.
I dreamed: a faithful husband, a trustworthy life,
to be able to grow old together.
But it didn’t work: there was a life partner,
And life with him became the scene of a stormy battle!
The beginning of happiness is a majestic officer:
Captivating, decisive, slim,
heroism an exceptional example,
Illustrious Defender of Port Arthur.
Six months have passed. Cupid threw down his bow,
but escaped our bedroom without looking back
tired of seeing a drunk tyrant
who organizes fights every night.
The battles continued at night.
Covered his body from the torpedo with a pillow,
my husband yelled nasty things to the Japanese,
skillfully combining rude words with delirium.
And in the morning after the nightmares, he was trembling,
drank alcohol with a glass,
and, losing his mind again, put the bottle
And he called me, mistaking me for the captain!
And again – the night, and again my husband
fighting with the Japanese fleet
threw a pillow through the window like a circle,
trying to get someone out of the water!
Seeing deserters behind him,
he destroyed paintings, vases and sculptures! …
This is how my chosen one lost his mind
Staying under the siege of Port Arthur
ALEXEY KALAKUTIN, RUSSIA
Translator: Marlene Pasini, Mexico
Alexey Kalakutin (October 30, 1973) lives in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. He is a Russian writer, a philologist. He is the author of six novels in verse, and and six long and extensive poetic pieces. International Ambassador for Peace, participant in several international poetic anthologies, awarded with certificates of recognition.
