Jacek Kaczmarski - Epitafium dla Włodzimierza Wysockiego

This is my road from hell to hell
I race downhill, breaking my neck!
No one holds me back, no one examines me
I don't burn bridges, I don't set gates!

Along the ridge! Along the ridge!
Over the abyss, no chains, no hesitation!
Here, on a sober path, devils will take me
Reason will betray me – the scoundrel
In the wolf’s pit, memories will change
Sharp ridge!

Along the ridge! Along the ridge! Along the ridge!
No one will replace my road with a defeated one!
They just grab my legs
Shouting – don't go! Shouting – stop!
Those who stopped halfway
And with teeth and claws, they break the ridge!

This is my road from hell to hell
Into the abyss, headfirst!
A new translation of the Divine Comedy
And my first step into the first circle of hell!

Here to me! Here to me!
The redhead grabs me with her hands
And ties my hair into a horse’s mane
I tug at the mane – the steed neighs!
She – What's wrong, my prince? –
Whispers to me…

To hell! To hell! To hell!
I don’t have time for a ride, furious witch!
– You don’t know what awaits you there –
She says, tears rolling down her pale face
– Hell is also for people!
Don't scare, don't tempt, and take your dreams when you leave!

This is my road from hell to hell
Around me, a crowd of pale figures
The horse lifts me slightly above them
And I take my step towards the second circle!

Exiled! Exiled!
Marked, damned, and sold!
What are you doing in hell's tunnels
Wading through the mud, stomping on ice?
Does death give freedom to men
Only to the lash?!

– It’s not like that! It’s not like that! It’s not like that!
Don’t pity us – you're a poet!
We couldn't bear paradise
Here is our element, here is our home!
Here no vile people will enter
Here no one will strike us with thunder!

– Lady of swamps, marshes, and snowy fields
Ignite the stones in the bath for whiteness!
From heated bodies, let pain melt away
We will take tattoos as a target!
For on my heart, on the left – Stalin trembles
Sweat floods his eyes and moustache!
We pierced his profile there
So he could hear how hearts tear!

This is my road from hell to hell
Oil lamps draw my gaze –
A suburban cottage, a small room
And with the third circle, my next step!

– Come in boldly! Come in boldly!
I don’t know how you managed to get here!
Look – the samovar is boiling
Drink tea, son, drink!
Have some homemade alcohol with us!
Live healthy!

We live comfortably! We live comfortably! We live comfortably!
This is how we live invisibly and silently…
We will live and we will die –
The world will never hear about us
And after death, we will drink
To a few years lived in good faith!

This is my road from hell to hell
The city, and in the city, a block next to another block
I inhale, slightly unsteady
And now, I step into the fourth circle!

To the circus! To the circus! To the cinema!
Turn on the TV – the fairy tale is starting!
Mum is in the store, Dad at the bar
The son slices with the PPSh until it plays!
On the pioneer’s scarf of dreams
He has a star!

To the matches! To the matches! To the rallies!
Know your own, don't show yourself to the secret police!
The neighbour – sure, we can drink
But he's a neighbour, a brother – that's a brother
As long as the world exists, the cautious
Should belong here and smile at this world!

This is my road from hell to hell
On stage, Hamlet, stabbed in the side
From which blood is now flowing –
To the fifth circle, another step!

Oh, Mother! Oh, Mother!
How could you so easily sell yourself to him!
After all, he killed your husband
He’ll destroy me, defile the throne
He’ll ruin Denmark, rob the people –
Ring the bell!

To fear! To fear! To fear!
Don’t choose between your lust and God!
It’s time to fix your mistakes
Mother, don’t do this – stop!
The censor from the ninth row:
– No, in this form, it can't go!

This is my road from hell to hell
Beer, vodka, cognac, grog –
The last Mecca for the best of us
And in the sixth circle, another step!

At the top! At the top! At the top!
You’d like to live fullest and longest!
It’s worth trying for
This is an addiction, understand it!
There, life is like under the tsar
And that’s it!

At the bottom, at the bottom, at the bottom
A glass of vodka and rye bread on the table
And we are all there and here
A crowd of torn souls in half
After the swing, dizziness and sadness
Even if you hit your head on the table every day!

This is my road from hell to hell
The darkness slowly falls upon me
So the devils' procession lights my path
For I step into the seventh circle!

They sit silent
And won’t look at my face – they know everything!
They sit, but they don’t speak –
A cloudy look shines from beneath their eyelids
They chew something, for their fangs fell out long ago!

So I stand! So I stand! So I stand!
And before them lies my life in a folder!
They don’t read, they don’t ask –
They sit silent – someone coughs
And outside the window, drums are playing –
Another parade, holiday, or something else…

And I understood what they want to do with me!
And fear grabs me by the throat!
My horse is gone, and you, the crowd of seven circles
Have sand in your ears and eyes!
No one will stretch cruel hands to me
They won’t torture or shear me!
They have an eighth circle for me!
The eighth circle, where there is nothing left

Remember me with all your strength, all your strength!
Though I passed before you like a shadow!
Burn the stones in the bath until they turn to dust –
I will return when the day begins!