They’ve swept everywhere, so there would be no tracks.. Go ahead, curse me, shame me, spread the news: My finish is the horizon and the finish line - the edge of the world, - I need to be the first one there! The bet was not okayed by some, And hands were shaken hesitantly, Here are the terms: to ride on the highway and only on it - No turns allowed. I am winding the miles on the meter, Riding parallel to the telephone wires, But these shadows continue to appear - Now a black cat, now someone in black. They put spokes in my wheels more than once, and I know it, I can guess how and when they will cheat me, I know where they will stop my run And where they will run a cable through my way. But I drown the meter pointers - at this speed A grain has the power of a bullet, - And I clench the wheel until my hands feel the cramps - I need to arrive before they tighten in the bolts! I am winding the miles on the meter, Riding vertical to the telephone wires, They’re screwing in the nuts, - got to jet! Or they will raise the cable up to my neck. And the asphalt is melting, and the protectors are seething, There is a heaving in the pit of my stomach from the nearness of the end, I tear the rope with my bare chest, - I am alive - take off your black ribbons! The one who forced me to take this bet Plays dirty when it comes to the payoff. I am drank with excitement, but nevertheless, I brake on the steep turns. I am winding the miles on the meter, Damn the ropes, the wires, the cables! Just try to reason with the losers - When I appear on the horizon! My finish - horizon is as far as before, I didn’t tear the finish line, but I got rid of the cable, - No rope crossed my jugular vertebrae, But they are aiming for my wheels from the bushes. I am not in this race for money, you know - They’ve asked me - "Don’t lose this moment - See if there is limit there, on the edge of the world, And can one draw apart the horizons?" I am winding the miles on the meter, And wouldn’t let a bullet hit my roof, But my brakes fail - coda! I lose the horizon in my run!..
© Nellie Tkach. Translation, 1998