Bezkrovna muza eugene malaniuk ua-en

Безкровна Муза — нежива,
А я несу їй в бідній жертві
Мої скалічені слова —
І окривавлені, і мертві.

Не оживить, не запалить,
Не випростать зігнуті крижі.
Ось кожна думка, кожна мить
Сталевим лезом горло ріже.

Гей, поки б’ється в хвилях злив
Доби сієї лютий вітер,
Так треба грому дужих слів,
Що загули б в литаврах літер!

Гей, де ж той гімн з іржавих сурм?
Де марш непереможних кроків?
Де апокаліпс тих пророків,
Що поведуть в останній штурм?

© Eugene Malaniuk
from the 'Poetychni Maysterni' website


My muse is bloodless and mundane,
As vividness has left its soul,
I sacrifice my words which reign
Over the dignity. This toll

Is endless suffering and death.
Where will we find the force to burn
Our avid thoughts, when every breath
Is full of eagerness to learn?

My thoughts keep cutting throat of time,
And winds are cold. The  wounded sky
Still resonates with painful chimes
Of our tragedies denied.

Where's our anthem? Crooked sounds
Of rotting metal, will corrupt,
Keep strolling rythmically. Ground
Will see another storm abrupt.

© Maryna Tchianova, 2022

NB!
To multilingual scholars/critics:

This is a combination of an adaptive translation and a derivative work.
I chose to turn direct images into innuendos and vice versa to amplify the overall pessimistic and alarmistic air of this timeless Ukrainian poem.

To be precise, an adaptive translation melds with a derivative work starting from the ninth line, so this choice of an experienced translator might seem to be dubious and too 'voluntary' by the adepts of word-by-word translation.

My perception of this segment of Malaniuk's heritage is too multi-faceted and too multicultural, perhaps. I notice strong influences of German, Polish, Italian and French lyrical traditions within his artistic manner, and as a homage to his putative inspirers, I had to play around with the socio-aesthetic optics and the tone of this plot.

By the way, I wholeheartedly hope my experiments, pits and falls of a tediously addictive and somewhat cryptic poetic translation work will inspire Gen Z-ers worldwide to delve into a vast ocean of Ukrainian poetry and read it in the original regardless of the place you reside currently. I am there for you through my writing and I hope your reflections on my lengthy and consecutive cycles will be meaningful, straightforward yet tactful.

I admire your integrity, creativity and the ability to find a place in the world spoilt by our competitive ardour and  immense immaterial pride and greed.