Stanislav Lvovsky (b.1972)
Moscow, Russia
* * *
can't write Russian
tired of those words
misused by columnists
PR specialists DJ's
war reporters generals leftists
victims house wives children
rightists writers please
stop
not trying to get
rid of some mental
or language
patterns and making
no pretence of writing
real poetry in English
just kinda cure
for me being sick
and tired of all
those words mutilated
by all other words
black winter milk
is clotting outside
stuttering this
isn't a real medicine
but rather
an anaesthetic
and it's a lot more than one
could ever count upon
having a good command
of English
*
he's so childish
she says
what I need
is a man
understandable
sometimes I also
get tired of girls
trying to look like women
weariness in their faces
too much mascara
it may seem they just grow up
somewhat faster
nowadays like those small
.com companies
then one of them
looks at me
all of a sudden
with incertitude challenge
effrontery fear
and I feel myself kinda peevish
market analyst
she's chewing a gum
staring at me
pink bubble
swells at her lips
then bursts
I keep on
telling her
well-worn stories
she laughs
I ask a waitress
for one more beer
and one more
Pina Colada
*
...talking about the revolution sounds whisper.
T.Chapman
boys and girls
their eyes glisten
of excitement
talking about the revolution
this time about
the conservative one
political analysts
their eyes glisten
of excitement
talking about the dictatorship
this time about
the one of law
maybe I just
like to be scared
due to my Jewish roots
I could turn off the TV
stop visiting
several particular sites
but we still have to use
the same language
so here I am
trying to do away
with my own accents
all the words sound whisper
sintax makes you feel
like being a fish
*
a poet should remain
somewhat childish
they say poetry itself
should be
a bit simple
for last three years or so
I've most likely been feeling concerned
about becoming a grown-up
at last
not childish enough
to write
not simple enough
to misunderstand
the reason
12 March 00