Николай Панченко - Въ вечернемъ небе, надъ Окою…

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Nikolay Panchenko - In the evening ether
over the Oka river…

I was a little tot,
And up in the evening ether
Over the Oka river
Suddenly I saw God —
Not that He was a lot,
But all that was
Was God.
All was Beginning and Fade,
Passing by, yet not passing away.

My parents were looking for me,
Finding me, yet not reaching me,
They were passing me ’bout
Till I had to call out.

They did not look AT me — but INTO,
As one peers through a crack or a window,
Missed the towel I had in my hands
All embroidered with roosters on ends
Till I had to call out,
And a rooster crowed.

At a point we were found by the road
I told them:
“I saw God.”
So steeply, so gently climbing down
We spoke out loud of what we found:

“He saw God!”
“...saw God!”
Not that He was a lot
(The fog hung — the moon was incensing),
And all that was
Was God…

1993