Saturday, August 15, 2009

[in the last autumn] you'll not remember what was here before



Any Russian can tell you that this is nowhere near a direct translation but one which translates the ideas behind the words into words the English speaker would understand, without the grammatical awkwardness.

You can Babel it to see how close I got.

Голодное море шипя поглотило
Осеннее солнце и за облаками
Вы больше не вспомните то что здесь было
И пыльной травы не коснетесь руками
Уходят в последнюю осень поэты
И их не вернуть заколочены ставни
Остались дожди и замерзшие реки

The hungry sea hisses and absorbs the autumn sun; behind the clouds, you will no longer recall that which was here; the dust on the grass won't be touched [further] by your hands; the poets depart in the last autumn and do not return; the shutters ae boarded up; only the rains and frozen rivers remain.

Give it a chance if you can - the images are nice and quite like Russia in autumn.

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