On the other bank, stands Lil Do I dunno where I’m headed In the endless column I’m in bear guts The bear is in a huge rubber ducky From Ho Chi Minh In the duck is a Fabergé egg An egg from the storefront of a 24/7 jewelers on Nevsky Prospekt On the other bank, stands Lil Do I dunno where I’m headed In the endless column I’m wearing my father’s belt The belt is faux leather Skin on my head The head lives in a rental I’m lying in a bar On a couch wearing my father’s belt On the other bank, stands Lil Do I dunno where I’m headed Smoothly flowing along with the column +++ And I love fat flowers so much And I love fat eyes so much You are telling me complicated things You are telling me complicated words. I’m outlining letters several times My darling, beloved pork, baby-beef I’m snapping and kissing, Torturing. +++ When the spring comes, I’ll quit smoking, I promise My heart longs for new tattoos And my soul is bursting to get out If you take these in And it doesn’t show out Then have yourself crucified by cocaine on a Moscow boulevard When June comes, Brining in the rest of the colorful summer We will leave stale salons and studios Once again. Laughing around trains stations Rip epaulettes off demobs And stirring MDA, ketamine and vine into Perrier Gone the summer, Comes the long-expected Russian fall Leaves are falling in Tekstilshchiki District and Neskuchny Garden Cocktail bars serve Absinthe and glitch wreck you just fine With cough syrups Bronchitis, the doom and the gloom. When the winter comes Bringing in the piercing December, The symphony of the long cold winter will lastly kick in Do not pop ketamine with detergents It will mess with your head And Demeters will haunt you till spring. +++ Run over by your mother Three blocks down from your home I am lying on the road Your mum’s breath seized up Missis Keywest cannot believe What has just happened Looking around and seeing nothing, She looks around one last time, staggers back into the car, turns the key, goes past me and flees. I am looking at your receding Texas plate The Dutch tilt gives me nausea Missis Keywest, here’s a tenner for Tony Can I drop by after lunch, if I’m feeling any better? +++ I buy Russian wherever I go Asia, Europe, Africa or Goa On the French Riviera, Buy the Russian goods, Russian, Russian – means it has a soul Russian cocaine – makes your soul sing Russian cocaine – makes your eyes shine Russian cocaine – on vacation or at work Russian cocaine – has the Russian soul I believe the day will come When the grand imperial flag Will fly over the world Red, white, blue Wipe the sweat from you tiered face And recall the childhood Barefoot, awash with beer And snort a line, good friend Russian cocaine – makes your soul sing Russian cocaine – makes your mouth smile Russian cocaine – I fuck the system over And don’t give a fuck about it +++ You mean that obscure hijacked flight That blew up over the Karelian Isthmus Killing some unknown people Whom barely anybody mourned? I did it for the birds. And as remains and carry-ons Were descending onto swampy forest clearings The skies roared as they never did before And flocks of seagulls took home red droplets on their pointed wings +++ Moscow, 1967, watercolor 30x40, unknown artist We are in the drawing On a bench near a day hospital waiting for him to come out Nearby a child holds a ball on the pavement A woman with a stroller Put her bag on our bench A babushka in a charcoal coat and a headscarf Tightly holds my mother in her arms I’m not there yet I’m not there yet A fantastic composition