i went for a smoke break
no ukraiņu valodas atdzejojuši O. Sokolenko, O. Petiks, V. Šepeļevs. Attēli no autora personīgā arhīva.
Giovanni
he is roaming the streets of Vorzel
like the plague in medieval europe cities
prompts us to cure with interesting stories
florentine md Giovanni
he looks so weird in the middle of Vorzel
in a large cloak and a medical mask
so funny with its beak (i know you have seen a picture)
bird-faced md Giovanni
he invites us to the feast
the disease is close he goes on
it’s time to tell the stories he goes on
pestilential md Giovanni
he breathes heavily and loudly
like a shellfish pressed to your ear
as if he’d been running to Vorzel from the very Florence to break you the horrid news
panting md Giovanni
in the nights we made up terze rime
or just acted like fools from a comedy
which he will ironically call divine
and strew our bodies with calx
shitty md Giovanni
shadows enlarge
behind our backs
udder of sun
is myrrh-streaming with fire
watered world
is like loathsome wine
you can’t swallow it neat
you will walk through the barrens
till night
gets your face
bitten off
Siryi told while on an observation post
how last summer
he finished them off with a kalashnikov
cows wounded by shards
near the Dolyna settlement, Donetsk oblast
(it can be told now)
how they suffered poor things
how they bellowed bleeding
amidst black field
what can you do
but finish them off
I wish it was summer
so long and cold are these January nights
in a naked zeroed-in forest
near the settlement (can't be told yet)
i went for a smoke break
on the bank of the Dnipro
had a chat with a ZSU soldier
and an ATB security guard
the soldier was a younger one
full of pride for the frontline brothers
and eager for his turn
to smash the rusnia
he was caressing his gun
and wiping his nose
with a pixelated sleeve
every time he
wiped his nose
i did the same
automatically
the atb guard
was walking a beautiful husky
and washing down a quarter of horilka
with half a liter of «Rohan» lager beer
he offered me a drink
but i refused
we smoked together
debated the current military and geopolitical affairs
and acknowledged that rusnia was in deep shit
and then the atb guard was telling us
about the summer
before the war
when he wooed some girls
on this very beach
we were laughing
though it was nothing to laugh about
it’s getting colder
the nose
is getting wetter
the right bank of dnipro
is darker
than a gun’s muzzle
not a poem
due to russia I have to
count things in my head
to take on a mission tomorrow
only the essentials —
every time there are fewer
a sleeping bag — obligatory
without it you are dead at night
a sleeping mat — to hell with that
a small mat is enough
a trench shovel — let it be
what if the position is new
chemical heaters — as many as possible
really cool thing — I honestly advise to everybody
a burner and a gas cylinder — take too much space — to hell with them
a couple of ruzzian alcohol burner
would be enough for morning coffee
the favorite large mug — can’t go without it —
at least four others would slurp from it
stuff the mug
with coffee and sugar sticks
if you have 3-in-1 it’s a luxury
and chocolate bars
then you don’t need to take grub
honey sticks — for when at night
you start to doze off on your shift
a couple of packs of biscuits —
for when you get sick of sweets
a bag of tea — for when you have
heartburn from the crappy coffee
a bottle of water — too large — yet mandatory
when the spit thickens
but drink in small portions
so the stomach does not get started
cigarettes — at least four packs
and one more stashed into the body armor
lighters — at least three
vape pens of different flavors
to avoid revealing the position with the light at night
a powerbank and a cord
to charge everything
binoculars — a useful thing
to watch over those bastards
to correct artillery
a thermal camera is mandatory
it’s a pity we don’t have one
ammo — besides that on the armor and the vest
loose and in magazines
grenades — besides those on the armor and the vest
screw the F-1s — too heavy
RGD is what you need
and ammo — loose and in magazines
in magazines and loose
in magazines loose in magazines
loose
in magazines
the fuckers keep crawling in
forcing you instead of the grub
to shove ammo into the backpack
to take out the essentials one by one
and put ammo into the backpack
instead of a sleeping bag and a mat — ammo
instead of a shovel and heaters — ammo
instead of gas and fuel tabs — ammo
instead of all electronic and optical devices — ammo
instead of the mug full of good stuff — ammo
when dozing off — ammo
when feeling sick — ammo
when heartburn starts — ammo
when the spit thickens — ammo
due to russia I have to
count ammo in my head
loose and in magazines
hoping they last
the fuck knows when the resupply will come
and bastards keep on crawling in
I warned you
this is not a poem
