If you look at America through television keyhole,
You may see wars for gender, oil and ambitious fights.
If you look at America with reading eyes of Liza,
You can see there Kindness, Good and the Holy Light.
But the key point of this look that is naive and guileless,
It will, of course, be the same: actions of loving men.
(That's how on the earthly influenced Hegelianism,
Heaven's in this world also - this is victorious bail).
If you look through the prism of America's best poets,
You will feel how through them Heaven is pouring grace,
The continent is shining, flooded by the light columns,
And good ideas live in them, these ideas embrace,
Striving for you, and moving in lines towards you, craving,
Slowly flowing, taking, capturing, carrying off,
And in above-American empyrean is reigning,
Mirroring in the best souls acts - the same Loving Law.
And finishing thanksgiving this pro-American poem,
Just as well it's pro-Russian, for it’s bilingual writ,
I name, addressing thankfulness to one man in person:
Shining above the continent to me is Daniel Brick.
***
WOW!! WOW!! This is a double-wow poem. It builds on "I am sitting" with its theme of Grace and America. You even use again a wonderful image in the earlier poem in this one. The image of columns of light.
I like how you reject the TV Hollywoodish aspects of America and offer your focus on the "acts of loving men," who act out of truth and not guile. This is the America that I embrace as my country and you have articulated this America for others to appreciate the truth. // There is always a visionary moment in your poem: for this poem it is the third stanza in which you link American poets with what is best in American.
And because of the truth-telling of our best poets, Heaven is pouring grace onto Americans - THAT'S THE VISIONARY MOMENT of this poem, and it is sweet and welcome.// In the last stanza you return to the two us, who are unified in our love for Russian poets. I am honored to share this position with you and the poets of both of of our countries.BTW This morning just moments after I woke up, I went to my Russian Literature bookcase and took out two volumes of Alexandr Blok's poems. I spent the better part of two hours reading Blok, one poem after another. I felt his words cleanse my heart and mind.
A Paraphrase:
"I name, addressing thankfulness to one poet in person:
Shining above the continent to me - ELIZAVETA."