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русскийback SOPHIA PARNOK
translation from Russian by Rainie Oet
[Cigarette after cigarette]
To Vera Zvyagintseva
May 25, 1926
Cigarette after cigarette.
We assemble, we talk, we judge.
All evening, I appear red-haired
through the eyes of the smoke.
As my other self drifts through a wasteland . . .
That unutterable blue light!
Every leaf—trembling—
on the sorrowful aspens.
Heaven’s drowsy vaults step apart,
a bright beehive comes into view,—
“Oh my stepdaughters! Stepsons! . . .”
nature breathes. 
Contributor's notes: Sophia Parnok
Contributor's notes: Rainie Oet
[Cigarette after cigarette]
[Our Passion’s still carefree, still young]