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The Fly (Mandelstam)

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The Fly
written by Osip Mandelstam
From Poems for Children. See also Poems.Translated from Russian by Dmitri Smirnov. In Russian: Муха.



 THE FLY [1]

— Little fly, where did you fall?
— In a bowl, in a bowl.

— Are you happy there, old girl?
— Not at all, not at all!

— Can you climb here by the droop?
— How can I? How can I?

— I will help you with a scoop —
Please, don’t cry! Please, don’t cry!

— You can help the poor old girl,
Be so kind, be so kind,

Pour the milk out of the bowl!
Would you mind? Would you mind?

1926


  1. The last poem from the cycle “Balloons”, 1926.

© Dmitri Smirnov, translation. Can be reproduced if non-commercial.


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