Old Age Tears

Though animals do have some human features
they differ from humans, the snivelling creatures.

A dog doesn't whine with its head full of bees, -
old age is what squeezes out its tears.

We wipe their eyes with their own ears
to rid their living of old age tears.

How can a dog see a fox or a hare,
with tears in its eyes, how can it stare ?

When I was a child I would howl like crazy,
at times I pretended and did it amazingly;

late tears, however, are held in concealment,
and I am afraid I may break that agreement.

And hiding my sobs in a sigh, feeling nervous,
I stand like a stone at a funeral service.

I talked to my eyes, and I pricked up my ears
to hear them reach an agreement with tears.

I don't want to weep but howl like a hound
when smelling the paint of a coffin around;

and here on the grave where my friend disappears
I cannot help crying, nor holding my tears.

August 25, 1994

Translated from the Russian by Alec Vagapov
©Yevgeny Yevtushenko