Run-up and jump... Ashamed to get up, I felt: Sawdust in the mouth and tears in my eyes, - On the damn mark two meters twelve The bar blocked my way to jump that high. I confess to you I wouldn’t lie: Such is the sporting life, it doesn’t last, - Just for a moment you’re so high - Suddenly you fall down very fast. But I’ll still eat the forbidden fruit, And I’ll pull the glory by the tail. Someone starts jumping from the left foot, But I use my right foot and I will prevail! Run-up and jump... Fall witnesses are so bad They whistle, pull me down by my leg and shout. My trainer told me without any regret: "You did the long jump, boy, without a doubt!" You have a sprained groin, your muscles are tense, - Jumping from the right foot is a whim, - To stay up high, you have no chance - You’re going down fast, you can’t win". But as if from rage I gasp for air, The main thing I explained very good, That they jump from left foot, and it’s fair, But I always jump from the right foot! Run-up and jump... Can’t catch up with the Canadian jumper - He jumps and laughs in my face on the fly! Again, two meters twelve, I knocked down the cross bar - And the coach told me: "you are so and so", straight, That, he says, he will drown me in the pond, So, in the future, no one else could, If immediately, right now I don’t Stop trying to jump off my wrong right foot. But I would rather drink a poisoned potion, I would do something to myself right now - But my right leg, which the coach called wrong I won’t trade for my left, that’s my vow! The stand laughed together, the sound swelled - But my ardour has not weakened: Run-up, jump, flight... And two meters twelve - This stage is over, I made it in the end! Even though my groin hurts like hell, Though I jumped until I was lame,- But still I jumped two meters twelve- And no one will bring me down again! "Who is who" I showed them all, - It’s a pity the wife planted a surprise: While I was on top of the world - She went down with a few other guys... But I still ate the the forbidden fruit, And I still pulled the glory by the tail, - Let them push off with their left foot. But my left one will always prevail!
© Anatoli Trojanowski. Translation, 2022