Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DO THE RUSSIANS WANT A WAR?, by YEVGENY ALEXANDROVICH YEVTUSHENKO


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DO THE RUSSIANS WANT A WAR?, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Say, do the russians want a war?
Last Line: Say -- do the russians want a war?
Alternate Author Name(s): Evtushenko, Evgeni


Say, do the Russians want a war? --
Go ask our land, then ask once more
That silence lingering in the air
Above the birch and poplar there.
Beneath those trees lie soldier lads
Whose sons will answer for their dads.
To add to what you learned before,
Say -- Do the Russians want a war?

Those soldiers died on every hand
Not only for their own dear land,
But so the world at night could sleep
And never have to wake and weep.
New York and Paris spend their nights
Asleep beneath the leaves and lights.
The answer's in their dreams, be sure.
Say -- Do the Russians want a war?

Sure, we know how to fight a war,
But we don't want to see once more
The soldiers falling all around,
Their countryside a battleground.
Ask those who give the soldiers life
Go ask my mother, ask my wife,
Then you will have to ask no more,
Say -- Do the Russians want a war?





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