Svetlana Zakharova (R/B) - The sudden portrait

The sudden portrait of a thousand possible ways

1.
on the letter strings dancing battered angel
like they grow on trees
in a mellow throat of a sleeping crater –
several wax apples and almost perfect avocado bone  –
nowhere to start not to swallow oh so guilty


2.
along the winding roads water tail sucked into ice
hands hands eyes clumsy back’s hurrying feet
a round and bright god emerges from clouds
scalable stackable shell screams embroidered on bone


3.
write out your circle of misery
release the fish back under the ice or accept this burden
lie down and fish and die
gradually grows the knife from the tail to the head
no didn’t even scream just yield a little in the loving hands


4.
half-empty or half-full
in this unique twist silently sink and
tell me about all that are dead and for nothing

or open the window:
and stumbling we do rise again
from the same fire made wooden birds


Svetlana Zakharova (Rostov-on-Don, 1979) is a Belgian author and translator born and raised in Russia. She studied Literary theory in Belgium, has numerous publications in Russia among which two collections of poetry and has translated into Russian works by Lodeizen, Reve and Faverey. She is also a trained actress and a member of the Radio Klebnikov Live Band.