Yuri Levitansky on the transience of life and a role that is played only once

Everything passes in this world, snow gives way to rain,
Everything passes, everything passes, we came, and we shall go.
Everything comes and goes into nowhere out of nothing.
Everything passes, but nothing passes without trace.
And, taking part in the plot, I watch from the side
How my moments flow, my years, my dreams,
How this thin thread is intertwined with others,
Where I, alas, can no longer change anything,
Because in this drama, whether you are a jester or a king,
One does not play a part twice, one plays a part only once.
And over my own part I weep and I laugh,
I want to play out mine as worthily as possible -
For it is not in petty coin but with my own life that I pay
Both for bitterly weeping and for laughing.

Literal translation

Yury Levitansky

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Yuri Levitansky on the transience of life and a role that is played only once

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