Irina Ermakova
Untitled
. . . towards morning around seven
when a strip of light under the doors
was redder than The Petersburg
Arrow *
maybe you will read me
at a glance –
snow
acrid clover
dark grapes
idly you think you lived
like a butterfly which
the admiralty spire reached burned through
that it’s the eighth hour and there’s no sense
in going to bed
it’s late and thank god
life has passed
that everything will happen after
that wings wither under glass
although they’re far more visible because of it
that I was the amusing specimen
in your collection
that I was . . .
when a strip of light under the doors
was redder than The Petersburg
Arrow *
maybe you will read me
at a glance –
snow
acrid clover
dark grapes
idly you think you lived
like a butterfly which
the admiralty spire reached burned through
that it’s the eighth hour and there’s no sense
in going to bed
it’s late and thank god
life has passed
that everything will happen after
that wings wither under glass
although they’re far more visible because of it
that I was the amusing specimen
in your collection
that I was . . .
* famous express train between Moscow and Petersburg
Author’s note: It perhaps goes without saying that
fanciers should not ignore the less striking species, especially
smaller butterflies, the study of which lags behind that of
large squamous winged creatures.
Translated by Daniel Weissbort
Page(s) 49
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