Lady Lazarus I have done it again. One...

Lady lazarus

I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it ---—

A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
My right foot

A paperweight,
My featureless, fine
Jew linen.

Peel off the napkin
O my enemy.
Do I terrify? -----—

The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth?
The sour breath
Will vanish in a day.

Soon, soon the flesh
The grave cave ate will be
At home on me

And I a smiling woman.
I am only thirty.
And like the cat I have nine times to die.

This is Number Three.
What a trash
To annihilate each decade.

What a million filaments.
The peanut-crunching crowd
Shoves in to see

Them unwrap me hand in foot —--—
The big strip tease.
Gentleman ladies

These are my hands
My knees.
I may be skin and bone,

Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman.
The first time it happened I was ten.
It was an accident.

The second time I meant
To last it out and not come back at all.
I rocked shut

As a seashell.
They had to call and call
And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls.

Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I've a call.

It's easy enough to do it in a cell.
It's easy enough to do it and stay put.
It's the theatrical

Comeback in broad day
To the same place, the same face, the same brute
Amused shout:

'A miracle!'
That knocks me out.
There is a charge

For the eyeing my scars, there is a charge
For the hearing of my heart-—
It really goes.

And there is a charge, a very large charge
For a word or a touch
Or a bit of blood

Or a piece of my hair on my clothes.
So, so, Herr Doktor.
So, Herr Enemy.

I am your opus,
I am your valuable,
The pure gold baby

That melts to a shriek.
I turn and burn.
Do not think I underestimate your great concern.

Ash, ash-—
You poke and stir.
Flesh, bone, there is nothing there --—

A cake of soap,
A wedding ring,
A gold filling.

Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.

Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.

Lady Lazarus

And so I was able to do it again
Every ten years there is a year
When I'm cracking down on myself

With a walking miracle of my skin that is brighter
Leather Nazi lampshade made of human
With right foot

Like a paperweight
With a thin faceless, as if
Jewish dressing canvas

Pull it down
Oh my enemy!
How? Am I terrifying you?

Eye sockets, nose, teeth set?
Everything breathes acid around
Rotting in a day.

And soon, soon this flesh
The mouth of the grave will eat
And everything was like a house on me

Here is a woman smile
All thirty full years.
And the cat of her life is nine times dead.

And now number three.
Why is this horror
Once every ten years with me?

Onlookers glum peanuts
Popping to behold
The fiber fabric is millions.

As from the legs and arms they will slide
This is a great striptease.
Gentlemen and Ladies

These are my hands
Knees.
Well, let that skin and bones,

Nevertheless, I am still the same woman.
Which for the first time died at ten.
And almost by accident.

But a second time and forever
I was about to leave irrevocably.
I shut the shutters behind me

Like a sea shell.
I had to call back and call me
Removing worms from me like sticky pearls,

To die -
This is art, like everything else,
It is in him that I create so beautifully.

I create, feeling the air of hell.
I create, feeling death in reality.
I think you will say that I am called to be exterminated.

This is easy to do without parting with fiber.
This is easy to do without leaving anywhere at all.
It's like a game in the theater

Back on a wide day
To the same place, to the same person, to the same bestiality
Satisfied scream:

'Miracle!'
Which will tear me apart.
There is a fee!

There is a fee for examining my scars
Over heart throwing listen to beats
It still beats

And there is still a fee, and a very large fee
For a drop of blood, for a hair
For my words and touch

For my piece of clothing.
Indeed, Mr. Doctor,
That's right, Mr. Enemy.

I am your business
I am your value
Pure Gold Child

I am squealing.
I'm spinning burning.
Without thinking that your interest, I suddenly underestimate.

Ashes, ashes -
Stir with a stick.
Flesh, bones, here from nothing -

Bone soap bars
Engagement ring .
Golden fillings.

Mr. God, Mr. Lucifer,
Watch out
Beware.

From this ashes
I rise red-haired
And I swallow men like air.

(translation by A. Yermoshkin)