Arseny Tarkovsky (1907-89)

Ivan's Willow

Before the war Ivan walked by the stream;
A willow grew there - whose, no one knew.

No-one knew why it spread over the stream;
Be that as it may - the tree was Ivan's.

In his tarpaulin, fallen in battle,
Ivan came back, below his own willow.

Ivan's willow tree,
Ivan's willow tree,
Like a white boat sails down the stream.

1958

From Ten Russian Poets, translated by Kitty Hunter Blair and Richard McKane, Anvil/Survivors' Poetry, 2003

ISBN 0-85646-328-0

Available through Survivors' Shop

The poet was the father of Andrei Tarkovsky, the film director, who predeceased him in December, 1986.