Vera Pavlova

1963 / Moskau

Immortal: neither dead nor alive

Immortal: neither dead nor alive.
Immortality is fatal.
Let us embrace. Your arms are
the sleeves of a straightjacket,
a life-belt to stay afloat.
Lyrical poets are cursed:
a caress is always firsthand,
a word rarely.

Translation Steven Seymour
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