Mike Girshovsky. Three Poems. Translated by Ilya Shambat

Also in Translations:

John-Martins-Apocalypse 1851-3
John Martins "Apocalypse" 1851-1853
Mike Girshovsky. Three Poems. Translated by Ilya Shambat

Far away the Jericho trumpet,

and it’s heard, resonates with the bone of skull,

stomps on dust and asphalt

35 Celsius, autumn, peace to the world.

In silence, in memory, in emptiness

a wet kiss and (like an anchor—“it melts”)

but does not melt—pierces—no escape!

Like a butterfly to a leaf: a mute “give me!”

But no one understands that need.

Eyes wide-open — blueness and distance,

You dwell, yet there’s no place, don’t wait,

Only with sound the steel pulses

This copper, skin, wood, air inside

Vibrates, tearing the world

Of the skull box, the clay from which an old man,

A child, and one meeting you talk.

Who blows into the mouthpiece of that horn?
 

* * *

The near and the far die

Without war, walking, in dreams

This is foolishly not right

And there is no other choice
 

I will pity myself the lonely one

left behind every time

With fingers of your curls’ memory

Or father’s slap: “Mishka, get down”
 

What, such devilry!

It happened! It is now forever.

And the cot will sway eternally

In trembling warmth—

Revenge of time on me.
 

The time passes away

Tearing me from eternity

With an explosion of black-and-gold spots inside my head—

On chicken legs, on fins, on stilts—

Memory’s ravines, ditches and dips.
 

But wherefrom comes the daily light?

The reaching bottom sun rays

O, I know not.

With the smile of the princess

The frog blooms from sleep.
 

No matter what—

That immortal clay breathes with light

And wonders are never smart.

Turn around!–the burning bush is behind

Your back and the flame in tears as always.
 

* * *

Quiet is the evangelical night.

And the one where stars shine to mages.

And the one where he speaks of the cup.

And the dawn is voiced by a rooster’s cry:

“Farewell, my stone—a cornerstone

You’re fated to be. But even for a stone

Аt the bottom, in a corner, in love, sleep is a sin.”
 

The Originals

Далеко-далёко Труба Ерихонская,

а слышна, костью черепа резонирует

по пыли и асфальту топом топает

35 по Цельсию, осень, миру мир.

В тишине, в пустоте, в памяти

влажный поцелуй и (якорем – “тает”)

но не тает – пронзает – не уйти!

Бабочкой к листу немое: “дай”

А не понимает никто той нужды.

Растопырив глаза – синь и даль,

Обитаешь, а места-то нет, не жди,

Только звуком пульсирует эта сталь

Эта медь, кожа, дерево, воздух внутри

что стоит вибрируя, разрывая мир

черепной коробки, глины, из которой старик,

и ребенок, и встречный с тобой говорит.

Кто же дует в мундштук той трубы?
 

* * *

Умирают близкие и дальние

Безо всякой войны на ходу и во сне

Что-то в этом дурацки неправильное

А другого для выбора нет
 

Пожалею себя одинокого

Остающегося здесь всякий раз

С памятью на пальцах твоего локона

Или папиного шлепка: «Мишка, слазь!»
 

Чертовщина такая, что только!

Это ж было! Это всегда теперь есть

Вечно будет раскачиваться та койка

А в дрожащем тепле –

Мне времени месть
 

Время уходит

От вечности меня отрывая

Взрывом черных с золотом пятен внутри головы

На куриных ножках на плавниках на сваях

Памяти овраги, провалы и рвы.
 

Но откуда берется свет ежедневный?

Блики солнца достигшие дна

Ох, не знаю.

С улыбкой царевны

Расцветает лягушка из сна
 

Хоть бы что

Дышит светом бессмертная глина

Никогда не умны чудеса

Обернись! – купина за спиною неопалима

И огонь как всегда весь в слезах.
 

* * *

Тиха евангельская ночь.

И та, где звёзды волхвам блещут.

И та, где он о чаше говорит.

И криком петуха рассвет озвучен:

“Прощай мой камень, быть краеугольным

Назначено тебе. Но даже камню

В углу в любви на дне спать грех.”
 

About the Author:

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Mike Girshovsky
Maywood, IL, USA

Mike was born in Kuibyshev. From the seventh grade until he turned 45, he lived 200 meters from the Volga River. He spent his nights writing poetry on the Volga embankment. He didn’t know how to rhyme until he wrote a sonnet in 1977. Once he learned to rhyme, he spent five years writing a wreath of sonnets. Over the course of 10 years, he gradually transitioned from mechanical engineer to psychologist. Perestroika came, and in 1989, he stopped writing. In 1998, he moved to Chicago and changed his name from Mishka to Mike. Around 2010, he gradually began writing again. He worked as a massage therapist for 15 years but was forced into retirement at the beginning of the quarantine. He has authored a dozen books and, in 2017, started “A Poet’s Video Blog” on YouTube.

About the Translator:

Ilya Shambat
Ilya Shambat
Australia

Ilya Shambat was born in the former Soviet Union and started writing poetry at age 10. When he was 12, he moved to America; when he was 18, he graduated from the University of Virginia. Ilya has translated a vast body of Russian poetry into English, including the complete works of Marina Tsvetayeva and Igor Severyanin. He has authored several books of original poetry and essays. He is currently residing in Australia, where he is raising a family. You can read Ilya’s translations on his site Ilya Shambat’s translations.

Mike Girshovsky Михаил Гиршовский
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