Николай Клюев, "Песня Гамаюна", начало 1930-х гг.:
"К нам вести горькие пришли,
что зыбь Арала в мёртвой тине,
что редки аисты на Украине,
моздокские не звонки ковыли,
и в светлой Саровской пустыне
скрипят подземные рули!
<...>
К нам вести горькие пришли,
что больше нет родной земли..."
Us
and Them...
And after all we're only ordinary men.
Me
and you...
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
"Forward!", - he cried from the rear
and the front rank died.
And the General sat, as the lines on the map
moved from side to side.
Black
and Blue...
And who knows which is which and who is who.
Up
and Down...
And in the end it's only round and round and round.
"Haven't you heard it's a battle of words!", -
the poster bearer cried.
"Listen, son", - said the man with the gun, -
"There's room for you inside".
Down
and Out...
It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about.
With,
without...
And who'll deny that's what the fightings all about.
"Get out of the way, it's a busy day
and I've got things on my mind".
For want of the price of tea and a slice
the old man died.
