Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky, 1938-1980, was a Russian singer, song writer, poet, and actor. He was the hero of his generation whose poetry in song ranged from life in the USSR to the deeply personal, as in “Horses.”
HORSES
Skirting the brink ledge of very’s abyss
I whip and lash my horses agog.
Not enough air, my teeth suck unbreathable fog--
I’m done, death ecstasy’s finished hiss.
Slow my horses, slow a heart’s tick at least twice.
You don’t obey, you don’t obey my whip and scowl!
Your capricious gallop will never allow
any chance to add a last swan to my song.
Thirsty my darlings? We’ll pause to drink
And another couplet I’ll sing.
Trust me for a few more heartbeats
And we’ll taunt the stunning abyss.
When dead, hurricane winds will blow my dust fingerless.
Come morning, ferry me sleigh-bound to snow.
Just charge a bit slower my beauties.
Let me tease death on this sweet race to rest.
Slow my darlings, slow those stampeding hearts.
Knout and whip are no high priest decree.
You don’t obey, you don’t obey my whip and scowl.
There’ll be no flashed second left to finish my song.
Let’s stop and drink again
And another couplet I’ll sing.
Just a few more ecstasies to please
And I can dish up my last reprieve.
No groom arrives late to his wedding with God,
So why are the angels singing angrily?
Or is that bells choking on my sobs
That beg my horses slow this fatal sleigh.
Slower my beauties, slow for one more tick.
Please, please cease your wild gallop.
How can you stampede so capricious
And not let me live to finish my song?
Drink more my darlings
And another couplet I’ll sing.
Just three more heartbeats
And my song is finished.
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