Maksym Kryvtsov is a Ukrainian poet killed by the Russians in January. I am helping a Ukrainian publisher (not mine but also a very good one) to put out a translation of his poetry into English. Here is my favorite poem:
He’s in the Armed Forces
she’s in Territorial Defense
they were kissing in the subway
it’s been only a month since
crossing
squares and river Dnipro
Kyiv’s quiet and peaceful core.
She puts on
her army boots and the uniform
the vest is concealing
her slight form
heavy weaponry
tactical meaning
she’s waiting for a quiet evening.
He puts on
his army boots and armament
the sky’s so clear
it’s transparent
the wind is crazy
and the raven knows,
enemy’s hiding
somewhere close.
Guys in the village
holding the line
while he reloads
his gun,
leaving the field of losses
and heading to the cross hill
where for our boys is waiting
Peter the Apostle.
She’s in Territorial Defense he’s in the Armed Forces.
Under the break (or on page 2 in some browsers), I placed the original translation. It doesn’t preserve the rhyme, and I hate to lose the rhyme because it changes the poem completely.
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