Иванов [Ivanov] [English translation]

Ivanov is at a bus stop

In expectation of a chariot

In anticipation of a mug of beer -

On a Monday morning life is hard;

And around are simple people,

Who enter transportation, crowding,

Trample Ivanov's feet,

Step right onto his wings.

And he wouldn't meld with them,

With co-citizens of his:

He has Sartre in his pocket,

And the co-citizens have a five-kopeck coin at best.

Ivanov is reading a book

And inspectors come,

And charge a fine from Ivanov;

On a Monday morning everything is always wrong.

He lives in Petrogradskaya [Street],

In a shared corridor,

Between the kitchen and the restroom,

And the restroom is always full to the top;

And people come to him

With suitcases of port wine

And spend the time of their lives

In comparative analysis of wine;

And later they leave;

Only the best friends

And the spellbound ladies

Stay with Ivanov till the morning;

And then the morning comes

All full of cigarette smoke and gray,

Proving the old assertion

That today is the same day that was yesterday