The War Works Hard (by Dunya Mikhail)
The War Works Hard (by Dunya Mikhail)
Original Text
Dunya Mikhail, The War Works Hard, trans. Elizabeth Winslow (New York: New Directions, 2005).
This
poem
is reproduced on the Griffin Prize Web Site
(from a volume on the 2006 International Shortlist).
1How magnificent the war is!
2How eager
3and efficient!
4Early in the morning,
5it wakes up the sirens
6and dispatches ambulances
7to various places,
8swings corpses through the air,
9rolls stretchers to the wounded,
10summons rain
11from the eyes of mothers,
12digs into the earth
13dislodging many things
14from under the ruins …
15Some are lifeless and glistening,
16others are pale and still throbbing …
17It produces the most questions
18in the minds of children,
19entertains the gods
20by shooting fireworks and missiles
21into the sky,
22sows mines in the fields
23and reaps punctures and blisters,
24urges families to emigrate,
25stands beside the clergymen
26as they curse the devil
27(poor devil, he remains
28with one hand in the searing fire) …
29The war continues working, day and night.
30It inspires tyrants
31to deliver long speeches,
32awards medals to generals
33and themes to poets.
34It contributes to the industry
35of artificial limbs,
36provides foods for flies,
37adds pages to the history books,
38achieves equality
39between killer and killed,
40teaches lovers to write letters,
41accustoms young women to waiting,
42fills the newspapers
43with articles and pictures,
44builds new houses
45for the orphans,
46invigorates the coffin makers,
47gives grave diggers
48a pat on the back
49and paints a smile on the leader’s face.
50The war works with unparalleled diligence!
51Yet no one gives it
52a word of praise.
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
2011