Svetlana Ivanova
O caterpillar, daughter of the butterfly
O caterpillar, daughter of the butterfly
You too one day will soar past tower and roof,
Past boring little dachas in the suburbs.
Yet no mere louse are you fated to remain –
You’ll outstrip yourself, slipping from your skin.
Wherever – over earth or leaf – you crawl
Your body has to work a little harder,
You’re a real
Shakin’ break-dancer,
And a hundred flowers all blaze bright for you.
Note: Line 3 recalls a line from Blok’s famous poem
“Neznakomka”: “… nad skukoi zagorodnykh dach”,
which refers to the famous boredom of Russian country life.
“Neznakomka”: “… nad skukoi zagorodnykh dach”,
which refers to the famous boredom of Russian country life.
Translated by Jenefer Coates
Page(s) 82
magazine list
- Features
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- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
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- Atlas
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- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
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- Dream Catcher
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- Fabric
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- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
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- Interpreter's House, The
- Iota
- Journal, The
- Lamport Court
- London Magazine, The
- Magma
- Matchbox
- Matter
- Modern Poetry in Translation
- Monkey Kettle
- Moodswing
- Neon Highway
- New Welsh Review
- North, The
- Oasis
- Obsessed with pipework
- Orbis
- Oxford Poetry
- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
- Poetry Scotland
- Poetry Wales
- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
- Rain Dog
- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
- Smoke
- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
- Weyfarers
- Wolf, The
- Yellow Crane, The