Lily, Dear! In Lieu of a Letter

I found the translation of my favourite poem by Mayakovsky. And my favourite poem in general, I guess. I didn't think it was possible to translate it.

Lily, Dear! In Lieu of a Letter

The room's a chapter of Kruchonikh's Inferno.
Air
gnawed out by tobacco smoke.
Remember – 
at the window,
for the first time,
burning,
with tender frenzy your arms I'd stroke?
Now you're sitting there,
heart in armour;
a day,
and perhaps,
I'll be driven out.
To the bleary hall:
let's dress: be calmer,
crazy heart, don't hammer so loud!
I'll rush out, raving,
hurl my body into the street,
slashed by despair from foot to brow.
Don't,
don't do it,
darling,
sweet!
Better say good-bye right now.
Anyway,
my love's a crippling weight
to hang on you
wherever you flee.
Let me sob it out
in a last complaint,
the bitterness of my misery.
A bull tired out by a day of sweat
can plunge into water,
get cooled and rested.
For me
there's no sea but your love,
and yet
from that even tears can't wrest me a respite.
If a weary elephant wants some calm,
lordly, he'll lounge on the sun-baked sand.
I've
only your love
for sun and balm,
yet I can't even guess who'll be fondling your hand.
If a poet were so tormented
he might
batter his love for cash and fame.
For me
the world holds on other delight
than the ring and glitter of your dear name.
No rope will be noosed,
no river leapt in,
nor will bullet or poison take my life.
No power over me,
your glance excepting,
has the blade of any knife.
Tomorrow you'll forget
it was I who crowned you,
I
who seared out a flowering soul.
The pages of my books will be vortexed
around you
by a vain existence's carnival whirl.
Could my words,
dry leaves that they are but,
detain you
with throbbing heart?
Ah,
let the last of my tenderness carpet
your footfall as you depart!

1916
Translated by Dorian Rottenberg

The pause hasn't lasted long. My bla-bla-bla blogue is finally turning into something closer to a traveller's blogue. Fingers crossed.

We have received an informal confirmation from Cathedral Camps and asked them to send a more official one. Going to apply for a visa next week.

Last week I saw the latest Wallace and Gromit cartoon. A short one. As good as usual, but Gromit has become somewhat predictable... Wallace keeps falling in love with sinister and rather ugly women.

I'll go for a pause.

So, in the last 50 hours:

- I have been speaking English for about 30 hours

- I have been laughing for about 10 hours altogether

- I have received the excellent mark for my simultaneous interpreting exam

I love English. and I'm a sinister perverted Russian witch))))

week-end

This was what I would call a student week-end. Instead of preparing for the finals we went to the Hermitage with a hilarious boy from the Lake district who says "boot" instead of "but". Later on Max and I went to a book fair. I didn't buy any books actually, but I did buy a plate (!) from Samarkand, two postcards (one of them is in fact a picture for "Cabot-Caboche" by Danniel Pennac) and a CD with cossack music. Haven't listened to it yet, though.

Today I went to the dacha to see my parents (mostly my dad, because my mom comes to see me quite often), it is sunny an warm at last and we had a great meal outside. Then together with my mom we hurried back to town. she went to a concert and I went to the cinema with a girl from the Czech Republic. She came with her friend (who had the same name if I'm not mistaken) and I was stupid enough to tell them that they could speak Czech because "I understand some of it". So they did and I haven't got the slightest idea of what they were talking about. On the other hand it was funny to listen to them, getting only occasional words. We saw a Spanish film called "Azuloscurocasinegro" which was great, by the way. My linguistical disaster didn't last long after the film because the other girl went home and we could get back to Russian. The girl said she loves Russian literature and her favourite writer is... Daniil Kharms!!!! It was quite a surprise!!! I recommended Dovlatov and 'glazirovannye syrki" to her.

digest

1) I've taken my first and the most diffucult exam - simultaneous interpreting. That was rather difficult and brain-killing, but I hope it wasn't too bad for a satisfactory mark. Anyway, I did better than usual.
2) Thanks to Lena (you're a treasure) I've found this couchsurfing thing and we won't have to sleep at trainstations, it seems. Tomorrow, V. and I are showing the Hermitage to a boy from the LAke District. He's been to Mongolia!
3) We have finally transferred the money to Cathedral Camps and have received the confirmation of the payment. Tomorrow I'm hoping to fax our applications.
4) My research doesn't seem to be that useless and hopeless, I had a fruitful talk with my tuitor.
5) It seems that the last week of University studies in my life is over... I haven't fully realized that, but I'm going to be sad about that. I'm pretty sure.

Yesterday was grey and rainy. I was walking along Nevsky, my hair started curling because of the rain and I thought that with all my rotten nature I love this marshy city.