Thursday 25 May 2017

Самопортрет с тютюн мустаци/Self-portrait with tobacco moustache



                                             The owner of the tobacco-yellowed moustache
                                             allows himself to spend a short time in the yard.
                                             He turns his face towards the sun like a lizard
                                             who’s looking for the best place for an afternoon nap.
                                             Behind his back he hears a sound which he’s expecting:
                                             the footsteps he remembers from the far past.
                                             Dream or nightmare? He doesn’t know.
                                             The walls of the building look real enough
                                             and the colours of the flowers bloom brightly.
                                             Did he say something he shouldn’t have?
                                             The flowers stay the same, colourful, impartial.
                                             A procession passes in the street. Planes
                                             cross the sky. A car engine coughs.
                                             The owner of the tobacco-yellowed moustache
                                             counts the windows of his house, its eyes.
                                             He finds a vase and fills it with reminders.


Image: Marina Shiderova; text: Tom Phillips