The Stork’s Song
(Translated from Russian)
The stork is the bird of happiness — a silent bird.
The windows and doors are open wide! The stork is flying to us.
"Where is your song?" I asked him.
He clicked his beak, as if to say:
— Once upon a time, storks knew many songs.
Everyone welcomed them, invited them in.
Storks generously shared their songs,
To make the world brighter, more wondrous.
The storks flew. Their songs filled the skies.
But one morning, the birds fell silent.
They had given away all their songs —
And clicking their beaks, they soared into the heavens.
I too, my dear, know many songs —
About spring flowers, and the land I love.
To make the world brighter, more wondrous,
I walk the earth, sharing my songs.
To the ones in love — a joyful song,
With tender chimes like wedding bells along.
To soaring souls — a song of open skies,
To a sorrowing mother — one of silent cries...
The birds are still flying somewhere up high.
I will give all my songs away. Every one.
And when one day I fall silent,
I shall become a stork. I shall become a stork.
The stork is the bird of happiness — a silent bird.
The windows and doors are open wide! The stork is flying to us.
I will give you a song, my dearest one —
Of the hard fate of white-winged birds.
From the book “The Island of Poems”, London, 2017