View of New York from the Night Sky

by Elena Shvarts
     translated by Julia Trubikhina (Kunina) & Betsy Hulick

View of New York from the Night Sky
     to Julia Kunina

Like the pulverized gold of Mycenae,
New York lies sprawled on its islands below
And the bird circling overhead
thinks a dragon breathes under the glow.
Like gold bars sprinkled with gold dust,
gold shavings and glittering carmine,
worms appear crawling everywhere
pressing the gold like grapes into wine,
and a moan ascends the sky in a cloud.
Spitting sparks, one by one, they crowd
into the depths of the dark surround.
The brazier—radiantly heated belowground—
slides away, shimmering, as wistfully I watch.
The barefoot plane tucks bellyward its heels
The city spins, drowning in a motionless wheel
And this live flame, this mortuary light
rises under the tilting plane, instilling horror
as if we’d been told that down underneath
the dragon’s mouth was gaping in a yawn.
The pilot, outpacing his hot breath,
flies the plane over the ocean to the right.