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BLIZNIUK. The World According to Deer 700x500. .
N. Kossman "The World According to Earthlings"
Poets of Ukraine. Dmitry Blizniuk. Translated by Sergey Gerasimov

 
Dawn
 
here is the dawn โ€“ tenderness of an early morning โ€“

soft like pitted dates, and the soul recollects reluctantly: the war.

the war is waiting; every morning the transparent Cerberus

greets us,

rubs its three muzzles against our legs. Or throat.

did you sleep okay?

scratch me between the ears, Iโ€™m not going to

bite you to death, one of the heads says.

I am, barks playfully the second one.

the third head keeps menacing silence,

watching you,

and in the yard, the rose bushes have blossomed;

the big, chubby buds bloom,

showing off silky wounds,

and bees are buzzing quietly,

and the roar of the air raid alarm is growing through that sound.

at dawn, its voice is not scary,

as we are still filled with optimism.

and this beautiful day, itโ€™s all ahead:

the long white and blue vase,

tall and elegant like a giraffe,

but already covered with hair-thin cracks,

the future shards.

it still holds together, by a miracle.
 
 
Salt Marsh
 
Iโ€™ve seen everything.

the sad guardian angel,

the wilted wings are all in concrete dust,

was sitting on the ruins of the burnt-out house.

the whole family died as fast as if

someone sucked out embryos,

as if no one has ever lived.

now the angel has to get up and walk,

putting his duckโ€™s feet on the shrapnel and rubble,

crunch, crunch, crackle,

looking for new people to protect.

in the evening, the wary, fiery-orange elks of sunset

will come here,

to the salt marsh of the sorrow,

and will be licking the tasty dirt

that has already forgotten us.
 
 
ะ ะฐััะฒะตั‚
 
ะฒะพั‚ ะพะฝ ั€ะฐััะฒะตั‚ – ะฝะตะณะฐ ั€ะฐะฝะฝะตะณะพ ะปะตั‚ะฝะตะณะพ ัƒั‚ั€ะฐ –

ะผัะณะบะธะต ั„ะธะฝะธะบะธ ะฑะตะท ะบะพัั‚ะพั‡ะตะบ, ะธ ะดัƒัˆะฐ ะฝะตะพั…ะพั‚ะฝะพ

ะฒัะฟะพะผะธะฝะฐะตั‚ – ะฒะพะนะฝะฐ.

ะฒะพะนะฝะฐ ะถะดะตั‚, ะบะฐะถะดะพะต ัƒั‚ั€ะพ ะฒัั‚ั€ะตั‡ะฐะตั‚ ะฝะฐั

ะฟั€ะพะทั€ะฐั‡ะฝั‹ะน ั†ะตั€ะฑะตั€.

ั‚ั€ะตั‚ัั ั‚ั€ะตะผั ะผะพั€ะดะฐะผะธ ะพ ะฝะพะณะธ. ะพ ะณะพั€ะปะพ.

ะบะฐะบ ั‚ะตะฑะต ัะฟะฐะปะพััŒ?

ะฟะพั‡ะตัˆะธ ะทะฐ ัƒัˆะฐะผะธ. ัะตะณะพะดะฝั ั ะฝะต ะฑัƒะดัƒ ั‚ะตะฑั ะทะฐะณั€ั‹ะทะฐั‚ัŒ

ะฝะฐัะผะตั€ั‚ัŒ. ะณะพะฒะพั€ะธั‚ ะพะดะฝะฐ ะณะพะปะพะฒะฐ.

ะธะปะธ ะฑัƒะดัƒ.

ะธะณั€ะธะฒะพ ะฒั‹ะปะฐะธะฒะฐะตั‚ ะฒั‚ะพั€ะฐั. ะฐ ั‚ั€ะตั‚ัŒั ั‚ัะถะตะปะพ ะผะพะปั‡ะธั‚,

ะฒะฝะธะผะฐั‚ะตะปัŒะฝะพ ัะปะตะดะธั‚.

ะฐ ะฒะพ ะดะฒะพั€ะต ะบัƒัั‚ั‹ ั€ะพะท ั€ะฐัั†ะฒะตะปะธ

ะฑัƒะนะฝั‹ะผะธ ะผะพั€ะดะฐั‚ั‹ะผะธ ะฑัƒั‚ะพะฝะฐะผะธ:

ัˆะตะปะบะพะฒั‹ะต ั€ะฐะฝั‹ ะฝะฐะฒั‹ะฝะพั.

ะธ ะฟั‡ะตะปั‹ ั‚ะพะฝะบะพ ะถัƒะถะถะฐั‚,

ะธ ัะฝะพะฒะฐ ะฟั€ะพั€ะฐัั‚ะฐะตั‚ ะฒะพะน ัะธั€ะตะฝั‹ โ€” ะฒะพะทะดัƒัˆะฝะฐั ั‚ั€ะตะฒะพะณะฐ โ€”

ัƒั‚ั€ะพะผ ัั‚ะพั‚ ะทะฒัƒะบ ะฝะต ั‚ะฐะบ ัั‚ั€ะฐัˆะตะฝ,

ะฒะตะดัŒ ะผั‹ ะตั‰ะต ะฝะฐะฟะพะปะฝะตะฝั‹ ะพะฟั‚ะธะผะธะทะผะพะผ ะฟะพัะปะต ัะฝะฐ.

ัั‚ะพั‚ ะฟั€ะตะบั€ะฐัะฝั‹ะน ะดะตะฝัŒ. ะพะฝ ะฒะตััŒ ะฒะฟะตั€ะตะดะธ-

ะดะปะธะฝะฝะฐั ะฑะตะปะพ-ะณะพะปัƒะฑะฐั ะฒะฐะทะฐ

ะฒั‹ัะพะบะฐั ะธ ัะปะตะณะฐะฝั‚ะฝะฐั ะบะฐะบ ะถะธั€ะฐั„,

ัƒะถะต ะฟะพะบั€ั‹ั‚ะฐ ะฝะตะทะฐะผะตั‚ะฝั‹ะผะธ ั‚ั€ะตั‰ะธะฝะฐะผะธ,

ะฑัƒะดัƒั‰ะธะผะธ ะพัะบะพะปะบะฐะผะธ.

ะฝะพ ะพะฝะฐ ะดะตั€ะถะธั‚ัั ะบะฐะบะธะผ-ั‚ะพ ั‡ัƒะดะพะผ.
 
 
ัะพะปะพะฝั‡ะฐะบ
 
ั ะฒัะต ะฒะธะดะตะป.

ะฟะตั‡ะฐะปัŒะฝั‹ะน ะฐะฝะณะตะป-ั…ั€ะฐะฝะธั‚ะตะปัŒ,

ะพะฑะฒะธััˆะธะต ะบั€ั‹ะปัŒั ะฟะพะบั€ั‹ั‚ั‹ ะฑะตั‚ะพะฝะฝะพะน ะฟั‹ะปัŒัŽ,

ัะธะดะตะป ะฝะฐ ะพะฑะณะพั€ะตะฒัˆะธั… ะบะฐะผะฝัั… ะฒ ัะพะถะถะตะฝะฝะพะผ ะดะพะผะต.

ะฒัั ัะตะผัŒั ะฟะพะณะธะฑะปะฐ ะฑั‹ัั‚ั€ะพ

ะฑัƒะดั‚ะพ ะพั‚ัะพัะฐะปะธ ะทะฐั€ะพะดั‹ัˆะธ.

ั‚ะพั‡ะฝะพ ะฝะต ะฑั‹ะปะพ ะฝะธะบะพะณะพ.

ั‚ะตะฟะตั€ัŒ ะฐะฝะณะตะปัƒ ะฝัƒะถะฝะพ ะฒัั‚ะฐั‚ัŒ ะธ ะธะดั‚ะธ ะฟะพ ะพัะบะพะปะบะฐะผ

ัƒั‚ะธะฝั‹ะผะธ ะปะฐะฟะบะฐะผะธ ั…ั€ัƒัั‚ัŒ ั‚ั€ััั‚ัŒ,

ะธัะบะฐั‚ัŒ ะฝะพะฒั‹ั… ะปัŽะดะตะน ะดะปั ะทะฐั‰ะธั‚ั‹.

ะพะดะฝะฐะถะดั‹ ะฒะตั‡ะตั€ะพะผ ััŽะดะฐ ะฟั€ะธะดัƒั‚

ะพะณะฝะตะฝะฝะพ-ะพั€ะฐะฝะถะตะฒั‹ะต ั‡ัƒั‚ะบะธะต ะปะพัะธ ะทะฐะบะฐั‚ะฐ

ะฝะฐ ัะพะปะพะฝั‡ะฐะบ ะณะพั€ั,

ะธ ะฑัƒะดัƒั‚ ะถะตะฒะฐั‚ัŒ ะปะธะทะฐั‚ัŒ ะฒะบัƒัะฝัƒัŽ ะทะตะผะปัŽ,

ะณะดะต ะฝะฐั ัƒะถะต ะฝะตั‚.
 

About the Author:

photo blizniuk
Dmitry Blizniuk
Kharkiv, Ukraine

Dmitry Blizniuk is a poet from Ukraine. His most recent poems have appeared in Rattle, The Cincinnati Review, The Nation, Prairie Schooner, Plume, The London Magazine, Guernica, Denver Quarterly, Pleiades, and many others. A Pushcart Prize nominee, he is also the author of The Red Fะพrest (Fowlpox Press, 2018). His poems have been awarded RHINO 2022 Translation Prize.

About the Translator:

1. ะกะตั€ะณะตะน ะ“ะตั€ะฐัะธะผะพะฒ
Sergey Gerasimov
Kharkiv, Ukraine

Sergey Gerasimov is a Ukraine-based writer, poet, and translator of poetry. Among other things, he has studied psychology. He is the author of several academic articles on cognitive psychology. When he is not writing, he leads a simple life of teaching, playing tennis, and kayaking down beautiful Ukrainian rivers. The largest book publishing companies in Russia, such as AST, Eksmo, and others have published his books. His stories and poems written in English have appeared in Adbusters, Clarkesworld Magazine, Strange Horizons, J Journal, The Bitter Oleander, and Acumen, among many others. His last book is Oasis published by Gypsy Shadow. The poetry he translated has been nominated for several Pushcart Prizes. His novel about survival in Kharkiv under heavy bombardment, originally written in English, has been published in a Swiss magazine, in German.

Dmitry Blizniuk ะ”ะผะธั‚ั€ะธะน ะ‘ะปะธะทะฝัŽะบ
Bookshelf
by Boris Kokotov

This collection includes poems written in 2020-2023.ย  (Russian edition)

by Marina Eskin (Eskina)

“The Lingering Twilight” (“ะกัƒะผะตั€ะบะธ”) is Marina Eskin’s fifth book of poems. (Russian edition)

by Ilya Perelmuter (editor)

Launched in 2012, “Four Centuries” is an international electronic magazine of Russian poetry in translation.

by Nina Kossman

A collection of moving, often funny vignettes about a childhood spent in the Soviet Union.

“Vivid picture of life behind the Iron Curtain.” โ€”Booklist
“This unique book will serve to promote discussions of freedom.” โ€”School Library Journal

by Maria Galina

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.

by Ian Probstein

A new collection of poems by Ian Probstein. (In Russian)

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