From Chronicles Of A King - 1 Poem by viacheslav kupriyanov

***

The King is flying on a magic carpet,
his courtiers crowded around him.
"Where are we going? " the King asks.
"We are heading to Lapland, Your Felicity,
we intend to engage them in talks
on ice nonproliferation beyond their borders."
"That's strange, " the King says,
"for ice drifts in the wind,
but we are the ones who make the weather."
"But Lapland makes the ice, Your Felicity."
"Magnificent. But when we're passing over the mountains,
please be sure to call my attention to them."
"Mountains, Your Felicity, kindly notice the mountains."
"Magnificent! If all earth were covered with mountains,
we wouldn't have to fly on carpets,
we could simply leap from peak to peak."
"Exactly right, Your Felicity,
but there's one problem with the mountains:
Lapland makes ice, and consequently, they
can lay claim to all the mountain peaks in the world."
"Incredible! Incredible! As soon as
we arrive at our destination, remind me of my people,
their power, grandeur and name,
so I could, on behalf of my people, subjugate Lapland to my will."
"As you will, Your Felicity,
and as for your people, they are people,
and people can stand for themselves."
"Magnificent. But when we're passing over the sea,
please be sure to call my attention to it."
"The sea, Your Felicity, kindly notice the sea."
"Magnificent! If the earth were covered with sea,
we wouldn't have to partition the earth with borders."
"Exactly right, Your Felicity."
"But because that's not the case, pay attention
when we are crossing the border,
remember to hand out fur hats to everyone,
so the foreign winds won't hurt our ears."
"Aye-aye, Your Felicity."
"By the way, what's that haze over on the horizon?
Could that be the enemy forces
beating their magic carpets
in violation of all the tacit agreements? "
"Not to worry, Your Felicity,
the horizontal service will bring things in order there."
"So where are we now? " the King asks.
"Flying the preplanned route, " the courtiers reply in chorus
that becomes a paean to the elements
whose beauty is precisely
that they have to submit to us.
But the King asks again, apprehensively:
"Who are we, though? "
"Oh, we are justice itself, " the courtiers chant,
"We are justice incarnate, and all hopes lie with us, "
the King chants in accord with the courtiers,
until their breath becomes visible,
and then he commands
to hand out fur hats to everyone,
and the chanting dies down, muffled by ear flaps.
"Where are we going? " the fur-hatted King asks.
"We are heading to Lapland, Your Felicity,
we are heading to Lapland to make weather, "
but the King can't hear anything anymore.


Translated from Russian by Dmitri Manin