Poppies blooming in the fields of Crimea

in Flanders Fields It is certainly well known to many English speakers:

Poppies blooming in the fields of Flanders
Between the crosses, row after row,
That marks our position; and in the sky
The skylark still sings and flies bravely
The sound of gunfire below was barely audible…

I remembered this poppy flower, a Russian poem by Grigory Pozhenyan; it refers to the Second World War in Crimea, in which Pozhenyan himself fought as a young man. This was my feeble attempt to translate the first few verses while retaining some of their lyrical qualities; I removed some Crimean place names which I thought would have little meaning to our readers, although I retained the words “Kurgan” ” term to refer to ancient burials common in Ukraine and Crimea:

The mountains of Crimea are quiet.
Dreams float on the Kurgan in Crimea.
It’s like there was no war, but the war
Just buried underneath.

A new day seems to have arrived.
How much water flows through the ocean.
But go ahead, just step through the door.
There is no escape from the poppy.

Poppy flower, poppy flower, red poppy flower,
Earth’s bitter memories
Do you really dream about men?
Do you really dream about men?
Who has not returned from these fields? …

Here’s a more literal and complete translation from LyricsTranslate:

There is silence on Feiyun Mountain
There are dreams on the Malakhov mound
As if there had never been a war there,
But the war is buried in silence

you might think it’s all over
The sea water has changed in 30 years
but if you go out
you can’t escape the poppy

Poppy flower, poppy flower, red poppy flower…
Bitter memories on earth
Have you really seen it in your dream…
Did you really see that in your dream?
An attack by soldiers who never came home?

Poplar trees in full bloom on Mount Sarpong
Cranes flying over Sa Pong Mountain
Poppies sway in the wind in the fields,
Poppy flower – the conscience of the earth

You might be thinking, “Why all the fuss?
They have been burning in the grass for 30 years.
But how I want to fall on that grass
Lying among the red poppies

Poppy flower, poppy flower, red poppy flower…
Bitter memories on earth
Have you really seen it in your dream…
Did you really see that in your dream?
An attack by soldiers who never came home?

There is silence on Feiyun Mountain
There are dreams on the Malakhov mound
As if there had never been a war there,
But the war is buried in silence

The YouTube video is a Russian performance by Efimych (Oleg Sharandanov) that I particularly like. By the way, here is the author’s description poppy flower (Pozhenian) Attributed by Wikipedia to Soviet Admiral FS Oktiabrskiy:

I have never seen a more rogue and reckless officer in my fleet! Absolute robber! I nominated him for the Order of Hero of the Soviet Union, but then he threw a commissar overboard during the landing at Ertigen. Naturally, this led to complaints to the military authorities. They began to organize military courts. But later they came to their senses and simply withdrew their recommendation for the medal.