If you thought I was playing games,
Let’s be clear on this account:
I have fallen in love when it was too late,
I have fallen in love, but time ran out.
If you thought I was rushing events,
You were wrong: they were rushing us.
I have fallen in love, but it was too late,
I have fallen in love when your love passed.
If you thought something here didn’t fit,
Why did you tell me that with a smile?
I have fallen in love like a fool, I admit,
I have fallen in love – is the fault all mine?
If you thought time would heal all wounds,
You can keep these illusions if you so desire.
I have fallen in love, but strange though it may sound,
I have fallen in love – not with you, my dear!
Признание
Если Вам показалось, что я говорил несерьезно,
Уверяю, Вам именно показалось.
Я влюбился когда уже было поздно,
Я влюбился, но времени не оставалось.
Если Вам показалось, что я торопил события,
Вы ошиблись: события нас торопили.
Я влюбился когда слишком поздно было,
Я влюбился но Вы уже разлюбили.
Если Вам показалось, что всё ещё можно поправить,
Для чего сообщать мне об этом с улыбкой?
Я влюбился по глупому с потрохами,
Я влюбился, но было ли это ошибкой?
Если Вам показалось, что время залечит всe раны,
Пребывайте в иллюзиях сколько хотите.
Я влюбился, Вам это покажется странным,
Я влюбился не в Вас, дорогая, простите!
Boris Kokotov was born in Moscow. He has authored several poetry collections in Russian. His translations of works by German Romantic poets were published in “A Century of Translation” (“Век перевода”), an anthology of translated verse, in Moscow. His translation of Louise Glück’s “The Wild Iris” was published by Vodoley (Moscow, 2012). Since 2015, his original work in English, as well as his translations into English, appeared in many literary magazines. He lives in Baltimore.
This collection includes poems written in 2020-2023. (Russian edition)
“The Lingering Twilight” (“Сумерки”) is Marina Eskin’s fifth book of poems. (Russian edition)
Launched in 2012, “Four Centuries” is an international electronic magazine of Russian poetry in translation.
A collection of moving, often funny vignettes about a childhood spent in the Soviet Union.
“Vivid picture of life behind the Iron Curtain.” —Booklist
“This unique book will serve to promote discussions of freedom.” —School Library Journal
A book of poems by Maria Galina, put together and completed exactly one day before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is Galina’s seventh book of poems. With translations by Anna Halberstadt and Ainsley Morse.
A new collection of poems by Ian Probstein. (In Russian)