Saturday, September 24, 2022

IRYNA SHUVALOVA ~


 


into the sweet orchard



you will go, woman, into the sweet orchard

a bone through a throat

a chunk of clay that melts

slowly burying yourself

in the dark pond of his body


you'll go as if into a river

first — a large fish

with a white belly full of dreams

second — a bloody berry

a closed fist full of bitter seeds

third — an empty jar

with a narrow

neck full of song


each time you enter you won't have a name

each time you enter you'll carry a mouthful of names

you'll swallow them beyond the gates

so that again you won't have any

so that you can return



__________________________

Iryna Shuvalova

Pray to the Empty Wells

translated by Olena Jennings

Lost Horse Press, 2019