The Mrk Of Cain Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEEFGFHIJKLMMNONL PQRQFSMLTUHTHGTTT FTTTMTMTFVMV WXTTMHM TMJM HTHT NMNM MHYMMOMOTTZMZTA2OGOM MMB2T TTTTJMC2MJMJM T

The poor pilgrims dragged themselves wearilyA
along to Mecca through gray SyriaB
huddled and doubled upC
the pilgrims stumbled alongD
away from delusion and fermentE
to repent repent repentE
And I was standing like an impenitent sinnerF
on the summit of the mountainG
where once upon a time don't stirF
Abel was killed by CainH
And of all communiqu s of bloodI
the most unforgettableJ
the elemental voice was heardK
'Cain where is your brother Abel 'L
But once again the PhariseesM
with their vile sweet voicesM
'Why do you worry about visions that are fakeN
Yes with Abel maybe we should have held backO
Admittedly there was a little mistakeN
but generally speaking we were on the right track 'L
And I was standing on the summitP
between those ahead and the hosts behindQ
above a world where people could commitR
every corruption of their own kindQ
There was no lightning and no thunderF
but the stones were crying with mouths opened wideS
'The corruption of the soul may be bloodlessM
but it is also fratricide 'L
And I imagined a gloomy deadT
brick orphanageU
where as with henbaneH
the children of Abel are spoonfedT
with lies by the children of CainH
And in the faces of Abel's childrenG
doing what they know that they must doT
which is always to stay silentT
the red mark of Cain shows throughT
-
And I no one's murdererF
was standing on the sticky summitT
but my conscience murmuredT
like the Bible 'You won't be able to quitT
You're corrupting your spirit with liesM
and your spirit is crumbling cracking insideT
And to kill yourself you cannot disguiseM
that that is also fratricideT
And how many women you twisterF
lie like crucifixions along your wayV
but women they are your sistersM
worth more than brothers can repayV
And the Hussars' toasts 'To the ladies '-
what are they worthW
Bravado empty formX
To kill love you cannot evade itT
that is also fratricideT
And someone's gray brown eyesM
staring at you with disdainH
on your forehead cicatrizeM
you with the eternal mark of Cain '-
I shudderedT
'Quiet O conscienceM
You know this is not comparableJ
it is like comparing a children's circusM
with a bloody Roman shambles '-
-
But the shadow of bony CainH
jutted out from the rocks near at handT
and the blood of the brother he had slainH
was endlessly dripping from my handT
-
'Look my bloody hands shakeN
As a child it was fun to improviseM
out of curiosity to breakN
the velvet wings of butterfliesM
and then fratricide '-
-
My conscience the protectressM
of the mark of CainH
the prophetess seer said againY
with prophetically bitter sadnessM
'What will you say to the eternal skiesM
and the court of stars when you cannot run backO
To say I am sinless would be telling liesM
but generally speaking I'm on the right trackO
You know all those whom you hateT
set this up as the true stateT
while the cigarettes take onZ
the smell of burning flesh the Winstons and the KentsM
and the bullet that passed through JohnZ
kills Robert KennedyT
And the bombs charge the earth turnA2
brown villages bloodred fire blackO
Admittedly they fall on childrenG
but generally speaking they're on the right trackO
Everything begins with the butterfliesM
later it comes round to bombsM
No amount of washing purifiesM
the blood on your hands will be your doomB2
The only murder that is fitT
is to kill the Cain inside '-
-
And losing my footing on the sticky summitT
face to face with the infiniteT
I tore the flesh open in my sideT
and the strangled embryo Cain diedT
I strangled everything mean and evilJ
all that you would later despiseM
but it was far too late to healC2
the broken wings of the butterfliesM
And the wind blood soaked invisibleJ
lashed at me from the fury of spaceM
as if the pages of the BibleJ
were lashing me on the faceM
-
-
Translated by Geoffrey Dutton with Igor Mezhakoff Koriakin revisedT

Yevgeny Yevtushenko



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