Poem: Epitaph

This poem was written by Natalya Gorbanevskaya, upon the death in 1983 of Vadim Delone, her fellow democracy protestor from August 1968.

Epitaph
(On the death of Vadim Delaunay)
Closer than a brother, the first and youngest
of us seven, whence no return.
Sweeter than sweet life, whereas there were seven,
hacking, digging the frozen earth?
To fall asleep that way, and to wake, detached from the earth,
beyond exile, KPP, barbed-wire . . .
beyond the thorny stars.  Pray for us,
offer your fraternal help.

 
Reference:
Natalya Gorbanevskaya [1983/2011]:  Selected Poems. Translated by Daniel Weissbort.  Manchester, UK: Carcanet.
KPP  (Kontrol’no-propusknoi punkt) is Frontier Control Point.

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