Пришли простые времена,
а мы еще витиеваты.
Раскрой глаза, идет война,
растерянно идут солдаты.

1999
 
Three English versions (February-March 2022)
 

In 2000, it seemed to me that everything suddenly became b/w, very clear. I titled my book (with a b/w cover): SIMPLER TIMES.

In 2022, Robert Chandler and Maria Bloshteyn created two different English versions of this poem, and I added one more. I borrowed the second line from Robert Chandler’s translation.
 

It’s back to abc’s once more,
yet we still parse and gloss.
Open your eyes: we are at war—
the soldiers slog on, lost.

Translated by Maria Bloshteyn
 
~ ~ ~
 
It’s simpler now. Just life or death.
No time for metaphor.
The face of war. Bewildered youths
who don’t know what they’re fighting for.

Translated by Robert Chandler
 
~ ~ ~
 
Simpler times arrived. No use,
no time for metaphor.
It’s black and white. A war that lasts,
the soldiers trudge on, lost.
 
Translated by the author