Poetry from Alexander Faynberg, translated to English by Shukurillayeva Lazzatoy

Young Central Asian woman with a black coat with white embroidery standing in a roomful of people and flags.

ALEXANDER ARKADYEVICH FEINBERG 

He who has no tongue has no rights,

We’ve poisoned the oceans’ embrace.

Dolphins leap and land upon the shore,

Dying without a single word to say.

Trees are silent, forests are felled.

The mountain’s peak, locators subdue.

In the desert sky, a nuclear fire blazes,

Burning voiceless grass and herbs away.

Water offers no retort, nor does stone,

A lion will leap into flames, bowing his head to the blow.

Birds of flight perish as bullets take aim.

Since creation, this ancient world

We are indifferent. We haven’t died of shame.

Why did you give language to man, O God?!

Translation by Shukurilloyeva Lazzatoy

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