July 1, 1995
Grandmother’s Tongue
As a kid in Croatia I learned that I had an American grandmother through eavesdropping on my parents during tax time, when my father—a clogmaker, that is, a “private entrepreneur,” […]
July 1, 1995
Katya
‘In old Russia,’ says Katya, raising blue eyelids, ‘There were no thieves. You would knock on a door, If you were traveling on pilgrimage, Then people would open, at all […]
July 1, 1995
Mortal Sin
Stay. Over there,” said Sylvia Solomonovna. “Keep an eye on the bags.” And she went to stand on line for their tickets. Polina remained under a giant electric departure schedule, […]
July 1, 1995
And like a Silly Burrowing Sectarian
From the Russian. And like a silly burrowing sectarian, turning to the corner, I whisper, beg: “My hole, save me! Show me the hollow where the bright tinderbox sleeps.” […]
July 1, 1995
Love Songs for the SS
I go to Polish coffee shops alone, to be alone. Christine. Elka. Lillian. Jolanta. Only the ones with women’s names will do. Screw Bruno and Leshko. Like my father and […]
July 1, 1995
Abba Jacob in the Well
Bakar, Atul, and Clancy lower a bucket and raise it slowed by stones. Once in a while Clancy turns on the pump to see whether water is running now, or […]
July 1, 1995
Saint Anthony
From the Rumanian. From the stars the hand of a child throws cherries at us. From the lake the hand of a child throws strawberries at us. From the […]
July 1, 1995
Count Orlov
He slept with the Empress; fathered her child; Strangled her husband. The funeral scarves Hid his fingers’ scars. His marches split Poland. His last, passion? Horses: a dark trotting breed. […]
July 1, 1995
Mathematics
From the Rumanian. Could I put the equal sign between my hell and your hell? Or rather, between my heaven and your hell? I say this in a room of […]
July 1, 1995
Between Two Cultures
I. Leaving I am walking with my father in the mountains, high above the tree line. He is telling me about leaving Europe during “The War” which, in shorthand, has […]
July 1, 1995
The Russian Army in Moldova
From the Rumanian. When a man is crucified in the year 1992 after Christ, his last breath produces snowstorms on the other side of the world. Over his children’s black […]
July 1, 1995
Post-Prandial Conversation
Abba Jacob said: I’m sorry; I forgot. I’m always forgetting things. The Wednesday morning mass, for instance. It’s an early mass, right after my morning prayer, and sometimes I forget […]