Две ипостаси (Two hypostases). Part II «Translation as blasphemy» by Shkrobius

Две ипостаси (Two hypostases) Part II
«Translation as blasphemy» by Shkrobius
‪@SergLuryi‬ #poetry #поэзия #читаетавтор
We must go back and start anew, ab ovo,
To find the little rift in the harmonious lute
That was the ending, the predestined failure
Of our union. What made it so embittered,
Endangered, embattled, persecuted,
Star crossed, tedious, unbearable, and dull?
What have engendered my loss, my deprivation,
The diminution and reversal of my fortunes?
The problem started there, in that cradle.
Its crux, its root, its key, its causation
Was the duplicity of nature so unlike
His better self, and it was the conceit,
Smug arrogance, pernicious innuendo,
Insinuation, parody, desire to lampoon,
To mock, to ape, to spoof, to ridicule.
That second "he" was but a bald baboon
Pilgarlic, toupee-less and callow alopecic
Whose words and deeds where those of a tyrant,
A despot, a dictator, a satrap,
A hangman, a tormentor, an oppressor,
A persecutor, blighter, pest, and cuss,
Who was at that a duff, an imbecile,
A dolt, a jerk, a nitwit, a retarded
Cretin, silly and obnoxious nincompoop,
Half-witted oaf and full-blown moron
Whom I have dared, ventured, and risked
To call just that - to gather in return
That it’s all rot, chaff, staff, and nonsense,
A tripe, a hogwash, hooey, taradiddle, -
The answer of a braggart, a swashbuckler,
A blowhard, a boastful rodomont, -
Such was his image, bearing, mode, demeanor.
In spite of this deformity he was
A Don Juan, a lecher, a satyr,
A Casanova, and a lewd wheremaster,
A seeker of voluptuous pursuits.
I liked that. That’s because unfreedom,
Meek servitude, captivity and bondage,
Subordination - all this filth and muck,
These loathsome and vain abominations -
Do serve quite frequently as feminine balsam,
A remedy, a cure, an elixir,
A febrifuge, a therapeutic bliss,
A pill, a self-delusion, a Chimera,
A substitute, a castle in the air.
I’m asking you, how could his better self,
The one that was inborn, all-natural, innate,
So suddenly go nuts, run berserk, run amok,
Snap, delirate - and in that frenzied state
Refuse, forswear, abandon and reject
My love, infatuation? - just like that:
Instinctively, unwittingly, without
Missing a beat, he’d come from nowhere,
The felon, the miscreant, the gallows bird,
The villain, the rogue ruffian, the thug.
It is the fact of life that one triumphant
Was that humbug, that cad, that scoundrel, cheat,
That Scaramouch, that boozer, and that wretch
Who was a bon vivant nevertheless.
Such things occur, they happen, they betide
Once in a while, infrequently, sometimes -
These are not fancies, imagination, or phantasms -
It is a question of the up-to-date importance,
Of relevance, of imminence, of note
Of much immediacy; a puzzle left unanswered:
There aren’t remonstrations or ripostes,
There’s only an echo, a reflection, a recurrence
Of our cries, hollers, shouts, yowls, and sobs,
So all that’s left are lies, fibs, untruth,
Decorous fables, concoctions of deceptions.
A flatterer, a toady, a servile
And obsequious sycophant, a pickthank,
A lisping adulator, limp cajoler, you
Can now grin, sneer, smirk; it’s time for having laughs:
Boy, can he giggle, chuckle, cackle, gag,
Jest, titter, snigger, chortle, and guffaw…
We do not need this roundabout talk,
This chitter chatter, prattle, persiflage.
The verse is speeding towards its curtailment,
Both hastily and quickly. It is time
For it to die of boredom and exhaustion,
To starve, to fail, to fade, to disappear.
I was not going to play pranks and silly tricks,
To romp, to frolic, to gambol, to rollick,
But nobody is taking me to task:
I won’t be chastened or given a reprove,
A censure, a rebuke, a reprimand:
All I can do is sit and cry aloud,
Weep, snivel, howl, blubber, wail,
Bleat, scream, screech, yelp,
And mutter lamentations…
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Две ипостаси. Часть 2 на русском
• Две ипостаси (Часть II...