The clouds of risen Peroun
Pass, like celestial shields.
He casts the lightning like unblunted arrows
Across the sky and down to the earth.
The thunder thus proclaims the end of the era of ice,
And blessed rain and hail
Anoint herbs and forests,
Holding the burial service over the deceased Winter.
May-June, 2012
Yekaterinburg-Saratov