why is it that you poets
Roman Osminkin
why is it that you poets
leave so late
it's clear you're not miners
you're not headed for the slaughter
have a look at pushkin
lermontov from a bullet
they fell in a duel
why the fuck are you still here?
look there's gumilev
whirlwind of the revolution
look at blok as well
whirlwind of the revolution
esenin's bell stopped ringing
khlebnikov went crazy
tsvetaeva committed
self-murder
mayakovsky became
incomprehensible to the masses
he spoke the floor is yours
comrade mauser
fucking mandelstam too
couldn't feel beneath his feet
either the country or fear
thanks to pasternak
but then pasternak
was also hounded
although he did of course
manage to live a bit
life in the absurd shattered
kharms' nerves
while vvedensky from the beginning
followed the example of death
aronson was created
not of this world
an evil dose devoured
vysotsky vladimir
but you came to an agreement
one day with evtushenko
and grabbed hold of life
like something kushner-shaped
i'm joking of course
go on and live long
well, not eternally of course
that would be indecent
or maybe you could show them
sprinkle your poems with blood
lay your health down
on the altar of the elements
in any case our books
are murky to them
that's enough from these philistines
enough giving them the finger behind their backs
translated by Jon Platt
festival of videopoetry "fifth leg" 2013
