Город [Gorod] [English translation]

Henri Volokhonsky

PARADISE

(from Prophet Ezechiel)

Above the deep blue sky

There is a golden town,

Whose clear-as-crystal gates are high.

With bright walls it is bound.

There’s a garden in that town

That’s full of plants of gold.

In there, the finest creatures walk,

Whose beauty is untold.

The first one’s like a red fire-maned lion,

Another ’s like an ox with many eyes,

The third one is a golden eagle of heaven,

Whose gaze is full of light and unforgettable.

And in the deep blue sky

There’s one star you shall find.

That star is yours, Angel of mine.

For you it’ll always shine.

The one who loves is loved,

Who shines light is a saint.

Let your star lead you upwards to

That garden, bright and quaint.

And there you’ll meet the red fire-maned lion,

And the blue ox – the one with many eyes,

With them there’ll be the golden eagle of heaven,

Whose gaze is full of light and unforgettable.

Poetic translation into English by ©Leo Schwartzberg 2021