Sunday, February 07, 2010

Mayakovsky Square

To the man who hated monuments

They built a monument.

From the man who despised idols

They manufactured an idol.

How many deaths can a man die

(Not counting the least one,

The death of his body)?

Bearded priests-

Deaf to the gospel

Of the thirteenth apostle-

Charged the red corner

With broken mirrors

Tore a man from his name

And sold a caricature,

Turned poetry

Into headlines and slogans.

And a pistol shot

Drove its full stop

Into the April evening,

Into the bull elephant’s heart.

To the man who hated monuments

They built a monument.

From the man who despised idols

They manufactured an idol.

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