"you can't get away with it..." - yevgeny yevtushenko

"You can't get away with it..."
by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (tr. Boyars & Franklin)

You can't get away with it--
Neither the slightest detour
From your predetermined path,
Nor being friends with a scoundrel,
Nor showing off to dazzle
A fool of a star-struck girl.

You can't get away with it:
Not a false move, or a sound--
For the false has a dangerous echo--
Nor lusting for wealth,
Nor calculating steps
Up the stair of success.

You can't get away with it--
Not the forgotten friend
Who makes you feel awkward,
Nor the tiniest ant
Under your shoe,
Squashed without spite.

This is the vicious circle:
You can't get away with it,
And even if you do,
Nothing comes free--
And a man, bit by small bit,
Goes out of his mind . . .