For The Record

A poem by Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012)

The clouds and the stars didn’t wage this war

the brooks gave no information

if the mountain spewed stones of fire into the river

it was not taking sides

the raindrop faintly swaying under the leaf

had no political opinions

and if here or there a house

filled with backed-up raw sewage

or poisoned those who lived there

with slow fumes, over years

the houses were not at war

nor did the tinned-up buildings

intend to refuse shelter

to homeless old women and roaming children

they had no policy to keep them roaming

or dying, no, the cities were not the problem

the bridges were non-partisan

the freeways burned, but not with hatred

Even the miles of barbed-wire

stretched around crouching temporary huts

designed to keep the unwanted

at a safe distance, out of sight

even the boards that had to absorb

year upon year, so many human sounds

so many depths of vomit, tears

slow-soaking blood

had not offered themselves for this

The trees didn’t volunteer to be cut into boards

nor the thorns for tearing flesh

Look around at all of it

and ask whose signature

is stamped on the orders, traced

in the corner of the building plans

Ask where the illiterate, big-bellied

women were, the drunks and crazies,

the ones you fear most of all: ask where you were.

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Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

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Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Юрий Галансков – Мне больно by Поэзия На Русском
• Юрий Галансков – Человеческий манифест by Поэзия На Русском
• Юрий Галансков стихи: читать все стихотворения, поэмы поэта Юрий Галансков – Поэзия на Poetry Monster by Поэзия На Русском
• Юрий Энтин – Слово про слово by Поэзия На Русском
• Юрий Левитанский – Не брести мне сушею by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Мое поколение by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Кто-то так уже писал by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Кинематограф by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Как зарок от суесловья, как залог by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Иронический человек by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Грач над березовой чащей by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Диалог у новогодней елки by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Что я знаю про стороны света by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Человек, строящий воздушные замки by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Левитанский – Белый снег by Юрий Левитанский
• Юрий Верховский – Зачем, паук, уходишь торопливо by Юрий Верховский
• Юрий Верховский – Вариации на тему Пушкина by Юрий Верховский
• Юрий Верховский – В майское утро by Юрий Верховский
• Юрий Верховский – Судьба с судьбой by Юрий Верховский
• Юрий Верховский – Рождественскою ночью by Юрий Верховский

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

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