Translation of Poem by SERGEI ESENIN, "Мы теперь уходим понемногу" "One by One We All Are Now Departing"

Sergei Esenin with Isadora Duncan

Sergei Esenin

(1895-1925)

Мы теперь уходим понемногу
В ту страну, где тишь и благодать.
Может быть, и скоро мне в дорогу
Бренные пожитки собирать.

Милые березовые чащи!
Ты, земля! И вы, равнин пески!
Перед этим сонмом уходящих
Я не в силах скрыть своей тоски.

Слишком я любил на этом свете
Все, что душу облекает в плоть.
Мир осинам, что, раскинув ветви,
Загляделись в розовую водь.

Много дум я в тишине продумал,
Много песен про себя сложил,
И на этой на земле угрюмой
Счастлив тем, что я дышал и жил.

Счастлив тем, что целовал я женщин,
Мял цветы, валялся на траве,
И зверье, как братьев наших меньших,
Никогда не бил по голове.

Знаю я, что не цветут там чащи,
Не звенит лебяжьей шеей рожь.
Оттого пред сонмом уходящих
Я всегда испытываю дрожь.

Знаю я, что в той стране не будет
Этих нив, златящихся во мгле.
Оттого и дороги мне люди,
Что живут со мною на земле.

1924

Literal Translation

Little by little we all are departing

For the land of quiet and abundant grace.

Could be that soon it’s time for me as well

To pack my bag and baggage for the trip.

Dear groves of birch!

And you, o earth, you, sandy plains!

Faced with this assemblage of departers,

I cannot hide my anguish.

I have loved too much in this world

All that clothes the soul with flesh.

Peace be unto the aspens that, spreading their branches,

Have gazed into the rose-colored waters.

Many thoughts I have pondered over in silence,

Many songs I have composed in my mind,

And on this gloomy earth

I’m happy to have lived and breathed.

I’m happy that I’ve had women to kiss,

That I’ve crumpled flowers and lolled about on the grass,

And never have beaten on the head

The animals, our little brothers.

I know that Over There no thickets blossom,

Nor do rye-stalks jingle their swan necks.

That’s why when faced with the throngs of departers,

I always tend to shake and tremble.

I know that in the land to come

There will be no rye fields gleaming golden in the haze.

That’s why so dear to me are the people

Who live with me upon this earth.

d

Literary Translation/Adaptation by U.R. Bowie

One by one we all are now departing

For realms where silence and beatitude abide.

And I as well, perhaps, will soon be starting

To pack my bag and baggage for the ride.

Dear groves of oak and birches so resplendent,

And you, O earth! You too, sand-laden plains!

In parting with these things that drift ascendant,

An anguish in me reeks, my soul constrains.

All things that clothe the weary soul with flesh,

This world of transient charm too much I’ve loved.

Like aspen trees that spread their limbs afresh

And gaze on rosy waters from above.

The thoughts in silence that I’ve often pondered,

The many songs inside myself composed,

And notwithstanding worldly joys I’ve squandered,

I’m happy that I’ve lived and breathed, reposed,

That I’ve had women’s kisses I’m content,

Lolled on the grass, communed with flower beds,

And never to vindictiveness gave vent

By beating cats or doggies on the heads.

I know that Over There no thickets bloom resplendent,

No rye stalks bend their swan’s necks in the breeze.

That’s why the parting with the lovely things ascendant

Leaves plagued with pain my heart, with anguish squeezed. 

I know that distant realm is lacking sorely

In golden-tufted wheat fields broadly spread.

That’s why I cherish friends, the ones who warmly

Clap me on the back and break black bread.

d

Translator’s Notes

In the original manuscript of this poem the title is “Ровесникам” (“To My Coevals” [persons of the same age as I]). The poem is dedicated to a good friend of Esenin, the poet Александр Ширяевец (Aleksandr Vasilievich Shirjaevets [1887-1924]). In Moscow, on May 15, 1924, Shirjaevets died suddenly of meningitis, and Esenin was deeply shaken by his death.

                              Gravesite Monument to Great Russian Actor and Comedian Yuri Nikulin  

                                                             Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow

 Performance in Song of the Esenin Poem by Efimich (Oleg Sharandanov)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF8kFRBnKfA