A gift of time.

Oleg Volk

In an hour we could be out of range
Past the border and finally safe
In one hour family would escape
From the grasp of the evil them

They, border guards, are following us
Panting, angry, with rifles ready
Their job is to kill all who'd leave "paradise"
Of the Socialist Commonwealth

Kids, old folks, they have gone ahead
Running, breathless, against the clock
The pursuers are gaining with every step
Wife and I stay to make them stop

Don't laugh, don't cry, we have no choice
Trust in luck, trust in steady aim
Though we know as well as you
Shotguns can't match a-ka-ems

Barking, shouts are getting closer
And in the moments we have left
I look at my wife and long for a hug
But her foxhole is too far away

We need to gain sixty minutes
A pipe dream for the circumstance
But other choices are not for us
So we train two beads on the path

Through the trees we see them approach
Hunting spirit warms their blood
The soldiers and dogs share a purpose
Guarding routes out of paradise

Fifty paces, forty, still closer
They can't see us but dogs can smell
Their nominal prey, we watch them
On the beads between double barrels

While kids still run for the border
We enter Valhalla together
Having won for the fleeing family
Five more minutes of safety