Сочинения Иосифа Бродского. Том IV

Whether you fished me bravely out of the Pacific
or I pried your shell wide open by the Atlantic
now matters little. A different kind of ocean
erodes nowadays what seemed fairly rocky
and presumably insinuates itself
into your hairdo as well — obliterating
as much as conquering. And, as the poet said,
thou art far in humanity, what with your offspring now
breaking new hearts and balls across this continent,
which is what, I hope, we still have in common.
Still, they are only half you. In a court of law
the inheritance of your mesmerizing beauty
that I thought immortal will be awarded
to nobody, including yourself. For although the gods or genes
are generous lending their properties — say, for a trial run
in these precincts — ultimately they are selfish;
at any rate, they are more vain than you,
having eternity. Which is a far cry from
yet another rented abode in a snowbound village
somewhere up north, where perhaps at this
very moment you stare at your flimsy mirror
returning you surely less than my equally one-dimensional
memory, though to you this makes indeed no difference.

1995

KOLO

In march the soldiers
with rifles on their shoulders.
Out run through brambles
the locals with their bundles.

Off fly the envoys

contemplating new ways
of creating symmetry
in a future cemetery.

Up go the pundits

explicating bandits.
Clearly outworded,
down go the murdered.

The expensive warriors,

sailing by on carriers
flying Old Glory,
signal hunky-dory.

Far is the neighbor,

loveless or unable,
neutral or bullied.
Near is a bullet.

Deep dig new hermits

sporting blue helmets.
Reasonable offers
manufacture orphans.

Blood as a liquid

shows no spilling limit;
one might build finally
here a refinery.

Home stay the virtuous

with their right to watch this
live, while they are dining:
it’s a mealtime dying.

Soiled turns the fabric

of the great republic.
Ethics by a ballot
is what it’s all about.

Mourn the slaughtered.

Pray for those squatted
in some concrete lair
facing betrayal.

1995

LOVE SONG