No, I don’t understand a thing

In my hungry howling,

For too long I’ve been growing numb

In this crowded tram that I’m stuck in.

At home, with every minute, every hour

I’d bring your damp, raw clay to life,

But you exhaust me with another labor:

I’m waiting patiently, but soon – enough.

1942.

Translated by Charles Swank and Matvei Yankelevich. © and courtesy of Ugly Duckling Pressw, 2016.