Sergei Shabalin. A Portrait. Translated by the Author

Also in Poetry:

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Akhra Ajinjal. Landscape (detail)
Sergei Shabalin. A Portrait. Translated by the Author

He never learned how to fit, to blend in,

Though he never took an antisocial stand.

Not a rebel, yet from early school days

He got his ass kicked every now and then.
 

He marched awry, not following commands,

and undermined the order of the hour;

And claimed the world was held by God’s intent,

but loathed the words authority and power.

 
He offered no quick fixes, no advice,

to heal a house already marked for fall;

By instinct — skin or gut — he recognized

The hollow truth in patterned shawls that call
 

to faith. He hid it not, and in the sternest hour

when weighty words were due, he’d simply say:

the seas are blue, the snows are white, and how

fresh droppings brownly stain the break of day;
 

how bright the flames of cursed braziers’ glow,

and how dirty laundry is a huge deceit…

He was polite, yet never quite in tow,

desired love, but never searched for it.
 

And he was not extravagant but gallant,

He rose and left without saying a word…

Was he a cultist? No, a mutant rather,

Hmm… There are many bozos in this world.

 
The portrait’s done. The verdict now is plain:

flanks are unchecked, disorder at the gate,

And such a type, beyond all doubt or gain,

Is dangerous to the values of the state.
 

Портрет
 
Он не умел быть правильным, похожим,

но социальный строй не обличал,

и не был бунтарем, но все ж по роже

со школьных лет исправно получал.
 

Не выучив устав, шагал не в ногу,

и дисциплину ратную губил,

и говорил, что мир во власти бога,

но слово власть при этом не любил.
 

Он не сорил рецептами, врачуя

убитый дом, поставленный на слом,

и то ли кожей, то ли жопой чуял

благую чушь в платочке расписном,
 

что не скрывал, и просто, между делом,

мог заявить в ответственный момент

о море синем и о снеге белом,

и что коричнев свежий экскремент.
 

Что ярко пламя чертовых жаровен

и тошнотворно грязное белье…

Он вроде вежлив был, но не удобен,

хотел любви, но не искал ее.
 

Галантным был, но не экстравагантным,

вставал и уходил, и был таков…

Сектантом был он… нет, скорей, мутантом,

короче, много в мире мудаков.
 

Портрет написан, значит, вывод ясен,

кругом бардак, тылы оголены,

и данный тип решительно опасен

для непреложных ценностей страны.

About the Author:

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Sergei Shabalin
New York, USA

Sergei Shabalin is a Russian poet and essayist, author of four poetry volumes and numerous publications in Russian and American literary journals. He is a nominee for the “Moskovsky Schyot” literary award (2008) and the “Novaya Unost” literary journal award (2009), as well as a member of the editorial board of Слово/Word literary journal (New York).

Sergei Shabalin Сергей Шабалин
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