Yak tobi skazaty - marianna kiyanovska - en-ua

Як тобі сказати, як тобі вмолити
Ці слова без назви, цю розлиту ртуть.
Цю необережність, вкинути у літо
Поміж берегами видихни і будь?
Вибач спробу щастя, тяжчу, ніж до того.
Я твоя, бо квітка. Глянеш – і зірвеш.
Вирвалась зі смерті, і тепер – убога.
І в житті, і в мові, і у Бога – теж…

© Marianna Kiyanovska, Ukraine


These words were made of mercury,
And they were cold and merciless.
How can I keep convincing you
To keep inhaling summer breeze?
The summer's absent-mindedness,
The river banks of purity...
Forgive attemps of happiness, they're
Full of previous gravity.
I'm yours because I'm blooming, so
You pick me and I'm fading. When
My death becomes a ghost of past,
I'm hurt, and sad, and powerless.
In life, in words, celestially
I am a shadow withering.

© Translated into British English and slightly reformulated (turned into a derivative work) by Maryna Tchianova in 2022