Vladimir Mayakovsky, 'The War Announced'
Mar. 9th, 2014 01:00 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
The War Announced
The evening news! Evening news! Evenining news! Italy! Germany! Austria!
And on the square gloomely tainted by the crowd the stream of purple blood has flown!
The Coffee-shop crushed its muzzle in blood, purple in the bestial cry: Let's poison with blood the games of Rhine! With thunders of cannon-balls on the marble of Rome!
From the sky, torn with the bayonet stings, the tears of stars were pouring like flour from the sieve
And the mercy crushed under the heels was screaming: ah, let me go, let me go! Let me go!
The bronze generals on the engraved granite were begging: Uncuff us and we will charge!
The kisses of the leaving cavalry were clattering like horses' hoofs, and infantry yearned the victory-murderer.
The towering city slept and dreamt the laughing voice of the cannon bass
And from the West the snow is tumbling with the juicy bits of the human flesh
The squad after squad are growing on the square
The angry woman's forehead is swelling with veins: Wait, let's wipe our sabres at the silk of ladies on the boulevards of Vienna!
The newspaper boys were crying out: Buy the evening news! Italy! Germany! Austria!
And on the square gloomely tainted by the crowd the stream of purple blood was flowing and flowing.
by Vladimir Mayakovsky
( Original Russian: )
The evening news! Evening news! Evenining news! Italy! Germany! Austria!
And on the square gloomely tainted by the crowd the stream of purple blood has flown!
The Coffee-shop crushed its muzzle in blood, purple in the bestial cry: Let's poison with blood the games of Rhine! With thunders of cannon-balls on the marble of Rome!
From the sky, torn with the bayonet stings, the tears of stars were pouring like flour from the sieve
And the mercy crushed under the heels was screaming: ah, let me go, let me go! Let me go!
The bronze generals on the engraved granite were begging: Uncuff us and we will charge!
The kisses of the leaving cavalry were clattering like horses' hoofs, and infantry yearned the victory-murderer.
The towering city slept and dreamt the laughing voice of the cannon bass
And from the West the snow is tumbling with the juicy bits of the human flesh
The squad after squad are growing on the square
The angry woman's forehead is swelling with veins: Wait, let's wipe our sabres at the silk of ladies on the boulevards of Vienna!
The newspaper boys were crying out: Buy the evening news! Italy! Germany! Austria!
And on the square gloomely tainted by the crowd the stream of purple blood was flowing and flowing.
by Vladimir Mayakovsky
( Original Russian: )