Огромное небо -пер. Р. Рождественского

The great sky
by Robert Rozhdestvensky

This matter is worth to be told in a tale:
In one fighter squadron were surving the friends,
In hearts and on survice they had as an oath -
The great sky so endless -
And one for them both.

They flew and had friendship  in heavens for long,
With their hands could touching stars and so on.
The grief had scrawled near, as tears to burst:
One day in one flight the motor stopped its work.

And there was need to jump with a parachute,
But the airplane'll downfall to the town, true.
And no any living trace will there be found,
The thousands of lives will have end in that time.

The quaters of town are flickering, but
They can't here jumping, and so they start
To force their aieplane flying to wood:
"Let we die, but town will be saved for sure!"

The arrow of plane had falled down from skies...
And wood shuddered with the explosion hard!..
The glades will turn green in a time, not so soon...
The town had thought, that there were the manouvres...

In grave there are lying in silence from that,
The excellent guys of the land excellent.
There're light and solemnity, filling this spot.
The great sky forever,
And one for them both.