Vladimir Mayakovsky is one of my favourite Russian poets. I was really impressed by this video: Aleksandr Petrov is reading a piece from Mayakovsky’s A Cloud in Trousers. Powerful interpretation!
Translation originally posted here:
You swept in abruptly
like “take it or leave it!”
Mauling your suede gloves,
you declared:
“D’ you know,
I’m getting married.”
All right, marry then.
So what,
I can take it.
As you see, I’m calm!
Like the pulse
of a corpse.
Do you remember
how you used to talk?
“Jack London,
money,
love,
passion.”
But I saw one thing only:
you, a Gioconda,
had to be stolen!
And you were stolen.
Russian text
Вошла ты,
резкая, как “нате!”,
муча перчатки замш,
сказала:
“Знаете –
я выхожу замуж”.
Что ж, выходите.
Ничего.
Покреплюсь.
Видите – спокоен как!
Как пульс
покойника.
Помните?
Вы говорили:
“Джек Лондон,
деньги,
любовь,
страсть”,-
а я одно видел:
вы – Джоконда,
которую надо украсть!
И украли.