Geography Lesson Poem by viacheslav kupriyanov

Tell the one who's lost his tongue
where the earth borders with memory:
an earthbound pupil can't live
with nobody to tell him the answers.

Tell him the roads that link
the back of beyond
with the Promised Land.

Now for the Land of Wonders:
how many rivers of sweat and blood
flow into the Sea of Bliss?

What size are
the armies
of the other world?

Whisper him the answer:
we are only prepared to leave
terrae incognitae behind us.

Tell him out loud:
we need to discover within us
the Poles of Good and Hope.

Tell him all together: the earth
is as round as a balloon
and bound by a thread -
our word.

Translated from Russian by Francis R. Jones