No, I’ll not take the half of anything!
Give me the whole sky! The far-flung earth!
Seas and rivers and mountain avalanches–
All these are mine! I’ll accept no less!No, life, you cannot woo me with a part.
Let it be all or nothing! I can shoulder that!
I don’t want happiness by halves,
Nor is half of sorrow what I want.Yet there’s a pillow I would share,
Where gently pressed against a cheek,
Like a helpless star, a falling star,
A ring glimmers on a finger of your hand.– Yevgeny Yevtushenko
For World Poetry Day,
and for Helen, a lover of language, literature and life. I miss her still.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I didn’t know this was World Poetry Day. This is a lovely poem, not as cryptic as many I’ve read recently. Just warm and satisfying.
This is an inappropriate spot for my comment, forgive me, but I wasn’t sure where to put it. I particularly like the row of cats on your banner, but I am somewhat concerned that I cannot locate the face, or indeed the head, of the center cat. I believe I detect an ear….