from Poems for Blok, by Marina Tsvetaeva
Your name is a—bird in my hand,
a piece of ice on my tongue.
The lips’ quick opening.
Your name—four letters.
A ball caught in flight,
a silver bell in my mouth.
a piece of ice on my tongue.
The lips’ quick opening.
Your name—four letters.
A ball caught in flight,
a silver bell in my mouth.
A stone thrown into a silent lake
is—the sound of your name.
The light click of hooves at night
—your name.
Your name at my temple
—sharp click of a cocked gun.
is—the sound of your name.
The light click of hooves at night
—your name.
Your name at my temple
—sharp click of a cocked gun.
Your name—impossible—
kiss on my eyes,
the chill of closed eyelids.
Your name—a kiss of snow.
Blue gulp of icy spring water.
With your name—sleep deepens.
_____
I adored your eyes, your ears, your nose, your neck, your name; I'd repeat it like a litany, like a rosary, like a spell; I'd spell it out; and then it became merely a four-letter word, like poem, like love, like time, like past. It was past time for me to be your pastime, so I thought of other four-letter words: rift, left, gone. And I went.
Now your name's a cliche: Once upon a time, there was a boy...and it ends with And she escaped in the nick of time, from the Nick with whom she spent time, and she lived, not happily, but through it.
Noun: a strike-through.
Verb, to steal, purloin.
Noun, a small edit.
Verb, to make a little cut, or scar. .
Redacted.
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kiss on my eyes,
the chill of closed eyelids.
Your name—a kiss of snow.
Blue gulp of icy spring water.
With your name—sleep deepens.
_____
I adored your eyes, your ears, your nose, your neck, your name; I'd repeat it like a litany, like a rosary, like a spell; I'd spell it out; and then it became merely a four-letter word, like poem, like love, like time, like past. It was past time for me to be your pastime, so I thought of other four-letter words: rift, left, gone. And I went.
Now your name's a cliche: Once upon a time, there was a boy...and it ends with And she escaped in the nick of time, from the Nick with whom she spent time, and she lived, not happily, but through it.
Noun: a strike-through.
Verb, to steal, purloin.
Noun, a small edit.
Verb, to make a little cut, or scar. .
Redacted.
