The Art Of Sharpshooting Poem by viacheslav kupriyanov

Perfect the art of sharpshooting
take your aim precisely
so you don't hit anybody
not a man for he's on his way to a woman
not a woman for she's on her way to a child
not a child for he doesn't yet know where to go
not an old one for he has no desire at all
to meet someone else's death
hone to perfection
the art of bombardment
it is so difficult
to miss a city or spare a village
to avoid wiping from the face of the earth
another uncommon countenance
perfect this art for the sake
of your own life and the lives of others
for if bullets and bombs don't hit you
and if you still manage not to step on mines
it is only
because your perfect adversary
is unwilling to yield to you
in this most striking art

Translated from Russian by Dmitri Manin