Dalog

One of the illustrations for the poem

And again about the couch. Dialogue between two poets

Sir Pantin

"... but then the grandmother shouted wildly: "And the sofa, the sofa!..."
...
Well, no, I thought, I locked the door with the latch, dragged the bed over to the
the sofa and began to undress. Dusky light was falling from the window,
there was a cat fussing in the oak tree."

A. and B. Strugatsky. "Monday begins on Saturday."

A credible dialog that happened on the pages of the Stichira between two stanzas:
He's Sir Pantin
She is Elena Kama

Him:
A good sofa speaks volumes to us:
Of apparent victories, of hidden passions,
It may seem like a blunt obituary,
Clutching your sail in my jaws:

Fell on the couch, and fell asleep with hopes.
I snuggled into my pillow, yawned..., and in a dream
That shore is far away, she's unclothed,
Enemies upside down, and you on your shield....

She:
And you're wearing a shield and a cabbage wreath,
And your pearls are large, and your soup is not empty,
And your sandwich is buttered and thick, thick
Caviar. And rhododendron bushes,

And your house is a bowl, not a dull evening,
Of course, there's a view of the sea from the room.....
Above all this wonder, she... unclothed.
And like a siren, beckoning...

Is it locked on her or on the enemy's croup?
Bottom line, as long as all the springs are intact,
We'll lock in on her. and the couch,
That set sail, and ruled to Nirvana.

Him:
Oh, this couch life is not a gift--
She must be kept steady and strict,
When there's not a candle burning over the pillow,
And you're not some travesti.

The couch saga is not a holiday, it's not a weekday,
You can't cover her with frog spawn.
All night, all night, morning, noon
The couch is like Victory, like Hero City.

He doesn't like words and sonnets,
To him, make hourly sacrifices,
The springs of the Couch are the orbits of the planet,
Which You have italicized.

She:
And let Spinoza write about the couch!
Seneca would ponder on the subject.....
It's sticking in my hot brain like a splinter,
There's a raw madrigal about the subject.

Oh, you've got the Couch Orbits!
Its cosmodromes, its curves....
I'm off the couch in a Montana suit!
Over! Vintage, stained glass, blends.....

04.09.2010