For Tomaž Šalamun
Names and butterflies flutter around
while the literati picnic on the grass.
Oblivion oozes its way through
black holes. A few centuries
drowned here. The civilisation theatre
closes shutters and cuts off
the last sunbeam. From a time-warp,
out comes the centennial dusk and shapes into
the words: “In fact, the world was a dwarf.â€
How many millennia
have been missing?
Are we living in phantom time?
As we wave the cerulean flags
of everyday, volumes of poetry
gather dust on the shelves
in the library of unwritten books,
into which unborn authors
are exclusively admitted.
Our boats are nearing the mouth of the
great river, and only the dents on their sides
can tell us about its headwaters.
~ Anatoly Kudryavitsky
Anatoly Kudryavitsky is a Russian/Irish poet, novelist and literary translator living in Dublin. His latest collection is ‘Capering Moons’ (Doghouse Books, 2011). His new novel, ‘The Flying Dutchman’, has been published by Text Publishers (Moscow) in July 2013. A book of his selected novels in English translation, titled ‘disUNITY’, is due from Glagoslav Publications (London) in autumn 2013.
Featured photography by Belal Khan.
