Five Chastushka

The rich Are resentful Of the poor Feel They have to Pay more Taxes Then the poor Hence hide Their Money Yet still Salute their Nations Flag And show Hunger for wars It is profitable And The poor Can do The soldiering Mortal Man The water broke Jubilation Soon a child be born The pain Has gone The battle Is done Can`t see or speak Slowly life Ebbs And a life Is extinguish Sometimes The unspoken Relief Is etched In mourners Faces Providence When They tore down The statue Of the dictator Left Was two Rusty tubes Hanging in their What happened? To the tube We will never Know Perhaps They were used As drain pipes Pipes Aloneness Around and Around He skated In a shallow Winter lake Till he fell And could Through ice Yellow grass Standing erect Ballet dancers Waiting for The cue He got up And skated In moonlight 1949 Years flew by Like Autumnal leafs And in a flash He looked Into his past Homestead Five milking Cows A horse Fifty sheep Hens enough To service a cock Simple life Hard work Swills Manure Collected For the soil Swills For the pig Seasons flew by Hasty clouds I was fifteen Bus back to town A new life Youthfulness I forgot Only now Do I remember A time Of contentment