You thought I was a toy, you, cruel, heartless creatures,
Who gave you right to bury me alive?
Seek absolution for your sins in churches,
As you commit them right where you live and thrive.

You seek your fortunes and pursue your pleasure,
But I’m committed to your putrid cage,
You trimmed my wings and took away my treasure –
My freedom and the Sun’s warm rays.

And now you wish for me to thrill your offspring
With pretty little tunes from dusk till dawn,
And give you joy by dumb and mindless twitting
All in exchange for view of your front lawn.

What of my joy, the one that you denied me,
Me, who with Liberty once flew?
You give me water that is dead and foul
To me, who’s used to drinking morning dew.

The fodder that you shove into my feeder
Is bitter and repulsive prison slop.
I miss the taste of fresh cut grass on meadows
That’s warmed up by the Sun’s eternal love.

My tears roll down the bright and colored feathers,
The plumage that attracted you to me,
These tears come from aching heart of jailbird
Depraved of freedom and the godly glee.

I miss the sky that’s peeking through your windows,
My soul still soars there among the clouds.
I beckon it with ruffle of my feathers,
But it will not descend from up above.

My heart and soul forever separated
The soul’s up there, in the blissful sky,
The heart’s in dungeon very deeply hated
So there’s nothing left for me but cry.

And now, before the bell tolls final hour,
Until my heart has few remaining beats,
I want to do what’s left within my power,
To bid my farewell to those I miss.

Farewell to Sun, I failed to reach your regions
To thank you for the warmth you amply shared.
Your rays can melt the steel and vaporize the stone,
But powerless they are my heart to warm.

Oh, endless Sky, my wings destined to fold
Beneath the blue abyss that used my wings to hold.
The empty space where Liberty resides,
And where I found happiness and pride.  

Farewell to leaves on all the trees I knew,
I miss the days when in your crowns I grew.
I loved you all, and on depressing nights,
In my grave-cage this love was sole light.

Oh, how I wished to bust through hated walls
And sing again in God’s celestial halls!
Farewell, my home shrub, once upon a time
You sheltered helpless fledgling that was I.

You were my roof on rainy, stormy nights,
You helped me up when I attempted flight.
Farewell to Freedom, you remain alone
In my home forest where shadows roam.

Where branches dreamed of little poets’ songs,
And verses were composed all day long.
On somber days when skies were dark and foul
You had the company of my immortal soul.

So said the jailbird, and, all said and done,
It closed its eyes and was forever gone.
New day will dawn, another convict bird
Will make the cage its tight and gloomy world.
 

By Liana Margiva
Translated from Russian  by Anatol Kardiukov