The Poetry Stash: 05Mar2024

"I'll live through this, survive, and they'll ask me..." by Irina Ratushinskaya

Today’s poem is "I'll live through this, survive, and they'll ask me..." by Irina Ratushinskaya from the collection Beyond the Limit, translated by Frances Padorr Brent and Carol J. Avins. The book is available for purchase here.

I'll live through this, survive, and they'll ask me:
how they beat my head on the prison cot,
how it froze during the nights,
how the first wisps of gray hair broke through.
I’ll smile and say some joke,
wave away the shadow that comes quickly,
and I’ll honor the dry September
that’s become my second birth.
And they’ll ask: doesn’t it hurt to remember?
without being deceived by the lightness around?
But names from the past burst in my memory—
beautiful—like old weapons.
And I’ll tell about the best in all the world,
how they accompanied us, how they went to torture,
awaited letters from those they loved.
And they’ll ask: what helped us live,
without letters or news—just walls
and coldness in the cell, stupidity of official lies,
nauseating promises for betrayal.
And I’ll tell about the first beauty which I saw in this captivity:
window in the frost! No spy holes, nor walls,
nor grating—no long suffering—
only bluish light in the smallest glass.
Whirling pattern—you can’t dream of anything more enchanted!
Look close, you’ll see it begin to blossom even more:
forest of thieves, fires, birds!
and how many times there was coldness
and how many windows glistened from that time on.
But it hasn’t happened again,
such violence of prism-ice,
and why should it be mine—now,
and what have I done to deserve this holiday?
Such a gift can happen only once.
Perhaps one needs it only once.
--30November 1983

Prompts:

1.	Begin with “and they’ll ask…”
2.	Begin with “what have I done to deserve this holiday?"
3.	Draft a poem in which several lines are punctuated with exclamation points.
4.	Make a list of moments/experiences which cause intense despair or grief. Make a list of moments/experiences which bring hope or consolation. Draft a poem that combines the lists. 

5. Photo by Eugene Golovesov. Use this image as a writing prompt.

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