last night wild boars dug
in the potato field
I’ve always wanted
to achieve
the perfect chaos
of this field dug
by pig snouts
and the happiness of gathering
your food
after the animals
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
I reached the holy spring
after six hours of walking
thirsty and utterly tired
the water was full
of tadpoles
creatures in a transitional form
overflowing with life and energy
their strong tails
were wiggling happily
in the crystal clear waters
of this ancient sanctuary
I began wondering actually who
had brought me here
not to drink water
but to see the tadpoles
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
I’m sitting behind the ferns
by a brook
the mountain trout
are jumping in the air
unaware
of my presence
lost in the midge hunt
they don’t notice how
I’m getting ever closer
their bodies are sprinkled
with blue and red specks
what beauty I whisper
and that’s my big mistake
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
the wild strawberries blend in with the grass
once their fruit is already picked
until next summer
they take a break from people
just the memory of them remains
the wild strawberries used to be somewhere here
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
after the rain
the crown of the blossoming silk tree
turns into the icon of a saint
with a halo made of flickering drops
and branches bowing their head in prayer
should I pass under this beaming tree
the halo will immediately collapse
human presence
always spoils the frame
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
if you lie down in the grass
a cuckoo will start calling you
a grasshopper will jump over you
a lizard will cross your foot
in the environment of animals
a human being forever
remains an object
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
after each blast
the titmouse jumps
from one branch to another
to it, war means moving
from the lower branches
to the top of the poplar
the great height
allows it
to follow
how the hostilities go
and then roar after roar
to go back
to the base of the tree
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
wires are meant for swallows
sparrows prefer
perching on nets
owls love chimneys
storks – electicity poles
the wounded airplane
cannot choose a place to perch
it resembles a bird in every other way
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
amongst all things
a bomb shelter
the most resembles a womb
jonah left the whale long ago
they switched roles
without us being aware of it
now the whale is inside jonah
and every second
it opens its mouth
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips
διάβολος – the Greek word for devil
bears within itself the meaning of
“the one who throws slanders”
I am watching the kids in front of the apartment blocks
how they divide into teams
the strongest one says
which team the weak should join
then the slander begins
among the players
war exists
on the same principle
Translated by Marina Karchinova / Edited by Tom Phillips