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“Either soldiers drove into the ground a stake …” by Marina Tsvetaeva 🇷🇺 (8 Oct 189231 Aug 1941)
Translated from the Russian by Ilya Shambat
Either soldiers drove into the ground a stake,
Either they covered a face with a red rag,
Either deaf and dumb from punches is the Divine,
Either on Easter they were banned from Kremlin—
Old revelers should sit at the linen,
Birds should crawl, fish should sing, women—reason,
Horse on a horseman should ride out wild,
Wine should be given a newborn child,
Corpses carried out the window, rivers—burn,
In the midnight must arise the red sun,
The groom should forget the betrothed’s name …
Ladies should love peasant men.