Семиэтажный дом с вывесками в охапке,
Курит уголь, как денди сигару,
И красноносый фонарь в гимназической шапке
Подмигивает вывеске — он сегодня в ударе.
На черных озерах маслянистого асфальта
Рыжие звезды служат ночи мессу…
Радуйтесь, сутенеры, трубы дома подымайте —
И у Дерибасовской есть поэтесса!
Eduard Bagritsky
Suvorov
A brisk little man in a grey three-cornered hat
And a dark-blue overcoat, the elbows worn right through,
He’d put on a pair of warm felt boots in winter
And swathe his throat in neckerchiefs, and mufflers too.
Mailcoaches still used to run on the highroads in those days;
The drivers wore long coats and felt hats with curving brims.
Inside the hotels of an evening, saucy girls sang romantic ballads,
And a fragrance of sweet fresh mint flowed through the low-ceilinged rooms.
When the sound of the post-horn was heard in the distance.
Green blinds in muddy windows were lifted curiously,
The amorous duets died away in the darkened rooms,
And the whisper went round: “Suvorov is on the way!”