Neither Stars, nor flowers

No, not for me to catch the stars above  
Or pluck the springtime flowers in meadows fair
To carry them to you as gifts of love
To be accepted with a gracious air.


Let flowers remain ungathered in the glade
For us to roam among them arm in arm.
Put them in flowerbowls and by evening they will fade:
The lack of air and sunshine does them harm.


The distance to the stars is far too great.
All I can do is watch them in the night.
A rocket might have helped—but it is late,
Too late for me to undertake the flight.

The strain would be too heavy for this heart,
An engine near the limit of its powers,
Clogged by the dust of countless roads and paths.
So take just it with neither stars nor flowers.





ARKADI KULESHOV
Translated by Dorian Rottenberg