Яникулум
Марина Эскина
На холме на зорьке петушок пропел, пропел петушок,
душу разбудил, бередил, о тебе напомнил, дружок,
вижу, слышу твой смешливый взгляд, отчаянный смех,
оттого, может быть, что не ближе, ты – милее всех.
Тень холма на вечный песочный город ползёт, как прилив,
точно время хочет себя разровнять и стереть.
Солнце плавит спину, но всадник стоит – победив,
а тогда наш был черёд решать: Рим или смерть,*
Мир казался необъятным, и ослеплял Рим
даже на задворках. Где задворки у него, кто разберёт.
Набережная,
сигаретa – хватaло одной двоим –
и платаны вдыхали призрачный дым свобод.
Солнце ухнуло за холм, вращаясь вокруг Земли,
докажи, попробуй, обратное...
Карусель
мотоциклов неоновых погасла, встала. И увели
пони, чёрно-белого, как тот апрель.
* Памятник Гарибальди на вершине холма Яникулум, «Рим или смерть» –
девиз Гарибальди
Janiculum
Marina Eskina
translation by Ian Ross Singleton
At dawn, on the hill above, a rooster crowed and crowed
and woke and stirred my soul, reminded me of you, love.
I still see and hear your wry glance and awkward laugh.
Maybe because you’re not nearer, you’re dearer than all.
The hill’s shadow covers the sandy eternal city like the tide,
as if time wants to wipe itself out, level off its depth.
Sun melts his back, yet the victor stands astride.
It's our turn to decide: Rome or death*.
The world seemed unfathomable, and Rome left us stunned,
even the backstreets. Where its “backstreets” are, who knows.
The riverbank,
a cigarette--the two of us shared one--
and the plane trees inhaled freedom’s ghostly smoke.
The sun slipped behind the hill to orbit the planet.
Try to prove the opposite…
A merry-go-round made
of neon motorcycles lost its momentum, then quit.
And a pony, piebald like that April, was led away.
*The statue of Garibaldi on top of Janiculum Hill, “Roma o morte” (Rome or death) -
Garibaldi’s motto
Marina Eskina is a poet and translator. She has published four books of poetry in Russian, including Stolen Air (Краденый воздух) in 2017 and a book of children’s poetry/verse in English called Explanation of a Firefly. Her works regularly appear in literary journals in Russia, the United States, and Europe. She emigrated from Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russia and currently lives in Boston, USA.
Ian Ross Singleton is a writer, translator, and professor of First-Year Writing at Baruch College. His short stories, translations, reviews, and essays have appeared in many journals. His short-story collection Grow Me Up was a finalist for the 2017 Tartt Fiction Award. Ian has taught for New York Writers Workshop, PrisonWrites!, San Francisco State University, the Prison University Project, and the PEN Prison Writing Program.
@singleton_ian singletonian.com www.newyorkwritersworkshop.com/faculty-2#Ian