“So it came together”

So it came together,

coincided: weakness

after illness, the calm

of gentle weather after

a week of rain, after

symptoms of autumn,

after wind and roving

liquid tons of dark-grey

moisture overhead.

With tenderness I note

how the golden light

of sun sifts through the heavens’

thinning greyness, and with

the change of tone a ray

penetrates the realm

of now-tranquil trees.

How does one tread more firmly,

breathe more deeply, see

things in three dimensions

so as to live and live?

Yellow leaves fluttered from

the hands of a child and a pigeon

flew up – simple joy

needs no translation.

 Translated by Katherine E. Young

“So it came together” first appeared in English in Waxwing (Issue 8, Spring 2016).

You can read and listen to the poem in the original Russian here.