4 Poems by Nazar Honchar

In the middle of winter I set off on a trip. 
I froze on the way—no surprise there. 
But on the train home 
I warmed up 
and forgot about the frost… 
But it remembered me: 
it was waiting for me, pinching on the platform— 
there it is for you! 
I spit in anger— 
my lip 
split— 
in anger 
I smirked. 

[Original Poem]

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Symbolisms, 
mystifications, 
fantasies, 
and other things, etc.— 
are all foreign to me: 
I’m for truth, 
though it’s bitter, though it’s sour, though it’s salty… 
however it might be, all the same it´s like an awl 
you can’t hide in a bag. 
Yesterday I fell into a manure puddle— 
I was barely able to crawl out, 
and can’t wash it off: 
fragrances don’t help, 
neither the ones I pour on myself, 
nor the ones I drink. 
A chronic head cold 
also doesn’t help… 
You, maybe, can’t smell 
my stench, 
but I don’t hide, 
no I don’t. 

[Original Poem]

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when you pour the beer 
of poetry into a pitcher 
from the top at first you see 
just the foam of words 

[Original Poem]

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I WRITE AN ANSWER TO KO’DOSYN 
WHOSE FRIEND IS WANG WEI 

they tell us 
all the doors and roads 
are open to us 
I don’t know 
how many doors are fated for us 
but the road—is one 

one way 

[Original Poem]

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All poems translated by Michael M. Naydan. To the last poem he provides the following note: "Honchar has in mind several references with the name Ko´Dosyn. First, that is the nickname of his schoolhood friend Kostya Dosyn. The name also suggests Doshin So (1911-1980), the Japanese master of the martial arts and founder of the Shorinji Kempo religion. He acquired his training from 17 years of study with the Shaolin Zen masters in China and built up a large following in Japan based on it. With Wang Wei Honchar probably has in mind the actor Wang Lung Wei who stars in Gordon Liu´s Hong Kong martial arts film Shaolin & Wu Tang (1981) and not the renowned 8th century male Chinese poet and painter (699-759) or the 17th century poet-prostitute by the same name. "One way" is in English in the original, presumably for the sound similarity between "Wang Wei" and "one way" in English. This is a long note on a short poem, but it certainly shows the complexity of and playfulness in Honchar´s compact but meaningfilled verse."

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Nazar Honchar @ WhyTranslator