Apocalyptic sunsets at the дача
A poem; published in Westerly 68.
Apocalyptic sunsets at the дача
Бабушка always went to bed early,
the box TV graining our silhouettes
on the sunken couch. I always thought
it could devour us whole, my cousin and me,
the dark blue depths the same colour
as the night sky, speckled with white bits of lint.
Our eyes glowed with midnight rapture,
anticipating the mad dash outside
to brush our teeth over the mouldy plastic sink,
the summer day turned frigid and watchful.
Бабушка’s cats slinking somewhere in the bush
the only sounds in her yard.
The rest of the world may as well have ceased
to exist. No cars or lights or neighbourly
voices. No barking dogs or singing birds
or even the swaying of branches. Earlier,
a false alarm in the form of a storm warning;
the council had already cut our power nonetheless.
We stayed up waiting out the brownout
to catch reruns of dubbed American movies
about mermaids and figure skaters. Back here,
my parents and I are always out too late
in the woods. The ground darkens
before the sky does. Dirt cakes my tattered shoes,
the same ones I wore when I roamed
sprawling meadows behind the дача
while my mother secretly organised
my citizenship. Did she think
I’d have said no? Did she think I wasn’t
old enough at seventeen
to make my own decisions and know
what they mean? She may have been right
because I don’t feel any more like a person
now than I did then. I don’t feel more Russian
than I did on those nights laying half-awake
on Бабушка’s blue couch, a breath away
from the forest, a dark cloud of apocalypse.
In the shelter of those woods, I was
my truest self. With my cousin by my side,
laughing unbridled until my ribs ached.
I was a child, then.
[Originally published in Westerly Magazine]
About the Creator
Svetlana Sterlin
Svetlana Sterlin is based in Brisbane, Australia, where she writes prose, poetry, and screenplays. The founding editor of swim meet lit mag, she also edits with Voiceworks.
More from Svetlana: https://linktr.ee/svetlanasterlin
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Comments (6)
I am getting word count issue even if I submit article that contains more than 600 words. I am getting message article should contain atleast 600 words. Anyone please help me with this issue.
This was so nostalgic! Loved your poem! Congratulations on your Top Story!
Great Job ❤️😉📝✨👌💯 Nice Article 🎉🎉🎉Congratulations on Your Achievements🎉✨😉Keep it Going❗❗❗
Wow, I think the ending adds so much color to this poem. It's so bittersweet.
Very bouncy and light feelings here with a nostalgic feel!! Well done
Very lovely read. Gave a lot of warm fuzzy feelings in the beginning.