We are a people living in shells and moving
Crablike; reticent, awkward, deeply suspicious;
Watching the world from a corner of half-closed eyelids,
Afraid lest someone show that he hates or loves us,
Afraid lest someone weep in the railway train.

We are coiled and clenched like a foetus clad in armour.
We hold our hearts for fear they fly like eagles.
We grasp our tongues for fear they cry like trumpets.
We listen to our own footsteps. We look both ways
Before we cross the silent empty road.

We are a people easily made uneasy,
Especially wary of praise, of passion, of scarlet
Cloaks, of gesturing hands, of the smiling stranger
In the alien hat who talks to all or the other
In the unfamiliar coat who talks to none.

We are afraid of too-cold thought or too-hot
Blood, of the opening of long-shut shafts or cupboards,
Of light in caves, of X-rays, probes, unclothing
Of emotion, intolerable revelation
Of lust in the light, of love in the palm of the hand.

We are afraid of, one day on a sunny morning,
Meeting ourselves or another without the usual
Outer sheath, the comfortable conversation,
And saying all, all, all we did not mean to,
All, all, all we did not know we meant.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

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

Poems in English 

• Вероника Тушнова – Кто-то в проруби тонет by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Костер by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Звезда by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Знаешь ли ты, что такое горе by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Зеркало by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Яблоки by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Я стою у открытой двери by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Я поняла, ты не хотел мне зла by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Я поднимаюсь по колючим склонам by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Я одна тебя любить умею by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – В чем отказала я тебе by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Утро (Вся ночь без сна) by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – У всех бывают слабости минуты by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – У каждого есть в жизни хоть одно, by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Ты все еще тревожишься — что будет by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Ты не любишь считать облака by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Ты любил, и я тебя любила by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Твои глаза by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Тропа, петляя и пыля by Вероника Тушнова
• Вероника Тушнова – Тень by Вероника Тушнова

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.

 

Parallel Translations of Poetry

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works