Third prize
Leah Goldberger and Eugene Serebryany
How is it living with another?
Simpler, no? A beat of the oar!
Has the memory grown farther,
Fading like a distant shore?
Think of me: a floating island,
Not in the sea -- in the sky above.
Souls, our souls will be united
In sisterhood only, not in love.
How is living with a common
Woman? Void of lofty things?
After razing your queen’s throne
By refusing to be king,
How is life, in all its vanity?
Getting up? Fussing about?
In the market for profanity,
Pauper, are you all tapped out?
“Sick of churning and of frothing!
I will rent myself a home.”
How is living with a nothing
You, who used to be my own?
Is her cookery delightful?
Worry not, you will get by.
How is living with an idol
You, who trampled on Sinai!
How is living with a stranger?
With a local? Do you love her rib?
Doesn't shame, Zeus's avenger,
Lash your forehead, like a whip?
How is living? And your health?
How do you feel? How do you sing?
Does the sore of ageless impudence
Ever bother you, poor thing?
How is the market for your marvel?
Are the taxes hard to take?
Having trashed Carrara marbles,
How is living with a fake
Made from plaster? (When a monolith
Of the god is smashed to bits!)
How is living with a millionth,
You, who have bedded Lilith?
Are you sated with her novelty?
Spurning the divine distichs,
How is living with an earthly
Woman? Without a sixth
Sense?
Think on it! Well, are you happy?
No? In a gully without depth,
How is life, my dear? As heavy
As for me with someone else?
November 19, 1924
Translated by Leah Goldberger and Eugene Serebryany
The entry may be further revised by the translators.
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