***
I have attended the concert of your lips,
I am sure I know of no agony comparable
To sensing of this opera.
The “bogatyrs” they are,
Are chivalrous,
Are knight-like characters
From Russian medieval folklore tales –
But also a complex orchestra of Mussorgsky:
ominous, grief-stricken, playful, and triumphant
– entirely familiar to me –
Allegro giusto, nel modo russico;
Senza allegrezza, ma poco sostenuto!
I am a Night unburdened, on Bald Mountain,
When your song enters my empty ear,
But oh, how deep the notes go,
And what long, and arid, and head-aching
‘Between-time’ waiting for your opera,
Which always so reminds me
Of book-length winters in Nizhny.
I often feel happy in the presence of lips without words,
And often more than that
In the presence of lips full of poetry…
Drawing ‘Smith&Rimbaud” by Sara Maino, 2023
