Gennady Katsov. “Peace, then war…” Translated by Larry Bogoslaw

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Gennady Katsov. "Peace, then war..." Translated by Larry Bogoslaw

peace, then war, then peace—

this land’s cursed

marching at its pace

in reverse

 
check the calendar—

what’s the year?

watch the pages turn

back from here
 

troubled times, where dreams

die away:

tantalizing gleams

of yesterday
 

soviet vintage cars

roll sluggishly

here’s a Moskvich, there’s

a Zhigulí
 

stagnation on our knees

brings us down

no one but enemies

all around
 

sleeper trains for days,

georgian tea—

maps look just like they

used to be
 

drunks in entryways

take a piss

or they spray your face

when they miss
 

I’m no fan of these

days or those:

blok’s old pharmacies,

lamps and posts
 

like hiccups, however

hard you try,

that convulsing empire

just won’t die
 

garlic cloves, fish oil

make you gag

i would be a fool

to go back
 

bitter memory

still resents

khrushchev’s legacy

tenements
 

no-name provinces

choked with fumes

same old tv quiz

shows and “news”
 

potty-mouthed park-goers

all ignore

sculpted Discus Throwers,

Girls with Oars
 

beaches barbed with wire

like gulags:

crimea’s ours, right where

it belongs
 

gray skies, no release

but quickie sex:

ussr, in peace

may it rest
 

history will judge

our days too,

but for now they’re just

déjà vu
 

who comes at us with swords

or a crutch

will die by steadfast bonds

which are much
 

stronger than those feeble

parasites!

party = people

kill the lights
 

The Original

мир, затем война,

мир опять —

весь свой век страна

ходит вспять
 

глянешь в календарь —

что за год?

будто числам дан

задний ход
 

смутная пора,

смерть мечтам:

позовёт вчера —

и все там
 

мы куда-то шли

днём, в ночи:

снова «жигули»,

«москвичи»
 

словно встал не с той

ты ноги,

а вокруг застой,

сплошь враги
 

крепкий чай, плацкарт —

всем назло

время то, из карт,

не ушло
 

завели часы

вновь назад:

кто в подъезды ссыт,

кто в глаза
 

этих не фанат

дней — и тех:

улица, фонарь,

тень аптек
 

это как икать —

прёт и прёт:

та страна никак

не умрёт
 

выпей рыбий жир,

съешь чеснок:

я бы там не жил,

если б мог
 

раз ещё болит —

не прощён:

память состоит

из хрущоб
 

славный город n. —

грязь и чад,

«время», «квн»,

«сельский час»
 

матом много слов

там, где бог,

девушка с веслом,

дискобол
 

где не магадан —

крымский пляж:

я тебе не дам,

ты мне дашь
 

мир постыл и сер,

быстрый секс:

был ссср,

был генсек
 

как-то наши дни

назовут,

а пока одни
deja vu
 

милые, какой

нынче час?

кто с мечом, с клюкой

кто на нас —
 

тот погибнет от

скреп в ответ!

партия, народ…

туши свет

About the Author:

Gennady_Katsov
Gennady Katsov
New York, USA

Gennady Katsov is a poet, essayist and journalist. In 1989 he moved to the US, where he has been working as a journalist for the last 32 years. His poems and essays have been published in leading literary magazines in the USA, Europe, Russia, including the magazines Znamya, Druzhba Narodov, Volga, UFO, Zvezda, Neva, Novy Zhurnal and others; in English – in Cimarron Review, Blue Lyra Review, Tupelo Quarterly, Verse Junkies, Painters and Poets, Life and Legends, etc. Author of ten books of poetry, including a collection of poems, prose and essays “The Attraction of Zen” (St. Petersburg: Petropol, 1999), the ekphrastic volume “Slovosphere” (New York: Liberty, 2013) and the poetry book “On the Western Front. Poems About the War of 2020” (M: Formaslov, 2021). Gennady is a member of the editorial board of the almanac “Времена” (USA) and the magazine “Emigrantskaya Lyrа” (Belgium).

 

About the Translator:

LBogoslaw_photo_cropped (1)
Laurence Bogoslaw
Minnesota, USA

Laurence Bogoslaw is part of a hereditary line of language nerds. He directs the Minnesota Translation Laboratory, a community language service he co-founded in 1996, and is editor in chief of East View Press, an independent academic publisher. He has taught Russian language, literature, and translation courses at several colleges and universities, and serves on the Certification Committee of the American Translators Association. An incorrigible translator of poetry and songs, he won the Compass Award in 2014 (Tarkovsky) and received Honorable Mention in 2015 (Slutsky). The translations published here are the product of several years’ collaboration with the original poet, Alexander Veytsman.

Gennady Katsov Геннадий Кацов
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