I dash, I push, - and I’m ashamed to get up My mouth full of sand, my eyes - of tears On God forsaken height of seven-foot-one The plank has stopped me just like I had feared. I’ll confess to you like in a church That’s what athlete’s life is all about For a moment you are at the top And the next moment you’re going down. But I will reap and taste the forbidden fruit And I will yank the tail of the beast named Fame While everybody pushes with their left foot I like to push with right, even though it’s bad. I dash, I push, - the crowd sees me falling They boo and drag me down to the dumps My Coach told me: "Man, it looks appalling. You maybe think that this is a long jump?" "You will pull groin if you don’t stop Pushing right is a laughable quirk You will never be there on the top, You’ll fall down despite of hard work." But panting I explained to him: at the root Of temporary troubles and my current plight The fact that they all push with their left foot, But I, myself, can only push with my right. I dash, I push, - I’ll never catch the Frenchman He’s laughing in my face as he flies by I hit the plank again at seven-foot-one And Coach told me looking in my eye: That he will kill me with his bare hands And that it will be for my own good If - "I mean it!" - right there and then I don’t switch my wrong right pushing foot. I’ll rather eat some venom or poisoned food Or do some other damage to myself I won’t quit pushing wrong, with my old right foot I won’t start pushing right, that is, with my left. The bleachers laughed as soon as they saw me run But mockery could never kill my zeal I dash, I push, I fly, and seven-foot-one Becomes my past accomplishment for real. And it’s okay that my groin will hurt And it’s okay that I jumped myself limp Now I know I’ve been to the top And nobody pushed me off of it. Thus, I got to taste the forbidden fruit And I caught the tail of the Fame-animal That’s okay that they all push with their left foot I will always push only with my right.        
© Alex Tolkachev. Translation, 1999