Translated from the Ukrainian by Orest Popovych
To Bronwyn Lea
On the Plaza de la Independencia – Bronwyn
warm air has filled our lungs
the only way out – is to inhale some more
the taste of tangerine – tongue between the teeth
all that will remain between us
is the time in this poem
Bronwyn – here time exists in the voices of revolutions
later these streets will be named after them
later the ladies of the night for three bucks
later the bands trumpeting halfway through the night
and there is so little time
to talk with you about poetry
Bronwyn – toss a sentavo into the fountain
perhaps we’ll return here – it’s like a security deposit
this street urchin who’s fooling and hassling us
knows that all of this life is transitory
for this you don’t even have to be a prophet
nor a poet
Bronwyn – let’s follow the carnival
why should we hide – we’ve stolen nothing
in a town where they trade in love
anything can happen – so many people
the streets are pressing heavily upon us – this draft
of words that I share with you
Bronwyn – you say it’s impossible
we won’t come here – only torrents will come
– like scabby dogs in green attire –
they’ll detect our trail fading in the sky
they will seize this thread – these February verses
those that belong to us both
Bronwyn – if I arrive together with the dogs
try to wait for me somewhere between the years
wait at the Alhambra – I know the way
I know this place – these walls and the terrace
the horses and buggies on de la Plaza
the red streamers – rojo –
Bronwyn – the locals know us by sight
maybe above the table there will be a name plate
here they love poets even after death
I am staring at the starlit sky
by now you are flying up to Australia
it’s a good thing we are mortals after all
Vasyl Makhno is a Ukrainian poet, prose writer, essayist, and translator. He is the author of thirteen collections of poetry, most recently A Poet, the Ocean, and Fish (2019) He has also published a book of short stories House in Bating Hollow (2015) and three books of essays The Gertrude Stein Memorial Cultural and Recreation Park (2006) and Horn of Plenty (2011), Suburbs and Borderlands (2019), two plays Coney Island (2006) and Bitch/Beach Generation (2007). He has also translated Zbigniew Herbert’s and Janusz Szuber’s poetry from Polish into Ukrainian, and edited an anthology of young Ukrainian poets from the 1990’s. His writing is widely translated in many languages. Collections of poetry, prose and essays books appeared in Poland, Serbia, Israel, Romania, and USA. He is the 2013 recipient of Serbia’s Povele Morave Prize in Poetry and BBC Book of the Year Award 2015. Makhno currently lives in New York City.
