Niko
about the author
Niko is also known as "The Bear".
(I saw the) Elephant
Spiteful Natasha told Dmitri
I never saw an elephant
when I went to Leningrad.
So while she dreamed her girlish dreams
Fast asleep in bed that night
I cut her hair off at the scalp
stroked my cheek in satisfaction
with the silky flaxen braids
smelled a memory in the darkness
of meadowsweet and chamomile.
I bit hard on Tanya’s hanky
as she rubbed salt into my back.
Brokenworld
They speak of shameful things
in the brokenworld
where arms and legs and heads
fall away into limepits
I will keep your dreams
bound with mine in an envelope
inside a chocolate box
with views of Venice
on the lid
Tread with care
over the rubble of aspirations
gather small things
to protect you
a child’s lost shoe
the ribbon of my nightshift
the bone clip carved to hold my hair
from tumbling down
showing my wantonness
These relics
And our shattered deathmask effigies
Chiseled with sorrowful expression
Will be the things
By which
Our humanity is judged.
