Wayne Pernu. Nomad’s Despair. Translated into Russian by Marina Eskin

Also in Translations:

y. The_Forest_in_Winter_at_Sunset_MET_DP247630
"The Forest in Winter at Sunset" by Théodore Rousseau, France, between 1846 and 1867
Wayne Pernu. Nomad's Despair. Translated into Russian by Marina Eskin

 
Aging Nomad,
with one wooden leg,
makes his way up
to Winnipeg.

Here in Canada
winter returns,
the night is pitch black
but the moon still burns.

An aging crow
in perilous flight
lost a wing
to the wind’s might.

A doe with buckshot
sprayed in her side
hobbled three days
through the woods and died.

Would that whisky
alone could warm
Nomad against
the impending storm.

Decades pass
yet one never learns
why night is pitch black
though the moon burns.

Out of these years
what does one gain
but fevers and a lack
to augment the pain?

Pain upon pain
with nothing to assuage
the toil and rack
administered to age.
 
* * *
 
Одноногий бродяга
скитаться привык,
на Виннепег
держит путь старик.

Здесь, в Канаде,
уже лютует зима,
и ночью ни зги,
хотя луна зажжена.

Старой вороне
порвало крыло,
с ветром сражаться
ей тяжело.

С дробью в боку
в лесу олениха
три дня прохромала,
упокоилась тихо.

Если бы только
виски спасал
от ненастья бродягу,
но и с этим обвал.

Годы проходят,
неувязка одна –
ночью ни зги,
хотя луна зажжена.

Что толку от десятков
прошедших лет?
лихорадку и боль
они не утолят…

Попытка лишь пытка,
не уняться боли,
годы плоть разъедают,
не хуже соли.

About the Author:

Wayne Pernu on EastWest Literary Forum
Wayne Pernu
Portland, OR, US

Wayne Pernu is an American poet who grew up in Minnesota and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

About the Translator:

218088430_10225884543528577_7640761300469319979_n (2) (1)
Marina Eskin
Boston, MA, USA

Marina Eskin was born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). She is a physicist by training. Marina is the author of four books of poetry in Russian, her texts and translations appear in various print and online publications. She is a member of the editorial board of “Interpoesia” journal.

Wayne Pernu Уэйн Перну
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