Timur Kibirov (2011) / Image courtesy of Богослов.ru
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After Dorothy Sayers
by Timur Kibirov
In the night, the dumb ox lowed to the donkey:
“Can you hear, brother, the sounds from the valley,
the neighs and the horseshoes' clang?
From magical lands, from the edge of the world,
wise magi hasten and kings gallop toward us
to bow to the King of Kings!
But before all the rest of them, I—a silly,
dawdling ox—bowed to Our Child!”
In the night, the lop-eared donkey cried out:
“Can you hear, brother, the sounds from the valley,
the neighs and the horseshoes' clang?
From magical lands, from the edge of the world,
wise magi hasten and kings gallop toward us
to bow to the King of Kings!
But before all the rest of them, I—a silly,
dawdling ox—bowed to Our Child!”
In the night, the lop-eared donkey cried out:
“Look at all the angels up there, brother ox,
who have lit up the midnight
darkness!
For this one and only time, this joyful time,
the Heavenly Powers have come together
in the sky to sing His praises.
But before them all, I — a stubborn old ass —
have already praised Our Child!
“Glory to God in the highest! Ee-yaw, ee-yaw!
Glory, glory to the Child in the manger!”Translated from the Russian by Jamie Olson
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Из Дороти Сэйерс
Тимур Кибиров
Замычал в ночи бессловесный вол:
«Слышишь звон в долине, мой брат осел,
Звон подков и ржанье коней?
Из волшебных стран, от края земли
К нам спешат волхвы, к нам скачут Цари
Поклониться Царю Царей!
Только раньше их всех, я, медлительный вол,
Поклонился Нашему Мальчику!»
Лопоухий в ночи возопил осел:
«Слышишь звон в долине, мой брат осел,
Звон подков и ржанье коней?
Из волшебных стран, от края земли
К нам спешат волхвы, к нам скачут Цари
Поклониться Царю Царей!
Только раньше их всех, я, медлительный вол,
Поклонился Нашему Мальчику!»
Лопоухий в ночи возопил осел:
«Сколько ангелов в небе, о брат мой вол,
Озарило синюю тьму!
В этот радостный, в этот единственный раз
Там вся Сила Небесная собралась
Чтобы славу пропеть Ему!
Только раньше их всех я, упрямый осел,
Я восславил Нашего Мальчика!
Слава в вышних Богу! Иа-иа!
Слава, слава Лежащему в яслях!»
Nice! But why "Ee-yaw" rather than the usual "Hee-haw"?
ReplyDeleteI considered "Hee-haw," but I wanted to avoid association with the silly old TV show. I tried to come up with something closer to the way it actually sounds when we mimic donkeys, and I don't think most of us pronounce either 'H'. Plus, if anything, I'd rather have readers think of Milne's Eeyore.
ReplyDeleteI pronounce them so vigorously that I was a grown man before I realized that Eeyore was supposed to represent the same sound!
ReplyDeleteBut do you pronounce it as an initial H, or as a kind a rushing sound (inward, then outward) that accompanies the whole thing?
ReplyDeleteI pronounce it exactly as written; I'm a city boy who grew up with no exposure to actual donkeys.
ReplyDeleteDammit, the more I think about it, you're right! I've changed it to "hee-haw" in my working draft. The OED won me over: if they include "hee-haw" (but not "ee-yaw"), then it must resonate as more than just a TV hillbilly reference.
ReplyDeleteYee-haw!
ReplyDelete