We never shared you; never touched you As for love - well, all that is behind On his breast my brother keeps your image And I carry this same image in my mind And on the day when we were parting at the station I said "I’ll love you till the day I die" "I won’t forget!" I said with dedication My brother added, "My love, neither will I" Now be the judge - who has it harder? And for whom it’s worse, try to decide: One of us has scarred his skin with iron And the other’s soul is scarred inside And when in pain I long for an execution - please do not now take offense - Opening my brother’s shirt is my solution And then staring for hours in suspense But, recently, my good friend and comrade Has defeated my woes with fine art Glancing at my brother’s breast, your face he copied And then pricked your profile right beside my heart It is rude to blacken friends, this much I know But I feel you’re much closer now to me Since my tattoo, well, your tattoo is so much better and more beautiful than his.
© Ilya Yakubovich. Translation, 2005