Burning Oneself Out

A poem by Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012)

We can look into the stove tonight

as into a mirror, yes,

the serrated log, the yellow-blue gaseous core

the crimson-flittered grey ash, yes.

I know inside my eyelids

and underneath my skin

Time takes hold of us like a draft

upward, drawing at the heats

in the belly, in the brain

You told me of setting your hand

into the print of a long-dead Indian

and for a moment, I knew that hand,

that print, that rock,

the sun producing powerful dreams

A word can do this

or, as tonight, the mirror of the fire

of my mind, burning as if it could go on

burning itself, burning down

feeding on everything

till there is nothing in life

that has not fed that fire

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Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Василий Курочкин – На погребение бедового критика by Василий Kурочкин
• Василий Курочкин – Мы всё смешное косим, косим by Василий Kурочкин
• Василий Курочкин – Мчит меня в твои объятья by Василий Kурочкин
• Василий Курочкин – Казацкие стихотворения by Василий Kурочкин
• Василий Курочкин – Как не вскрикнуть тут с поэтом by Василий Kурочкин
• Василий Курочкин – Двуглавый орел by Василий Kурочкин
• Василий Курочкин – Дама приятная во всех отношениях by Василий Kурочкин
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Москва майская by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Марш веселых ребят by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Жрец искусства by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Здравствуй, школа by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Закаляйся by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Водовоз by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Веселый ветер by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – В метро by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – В дальний путь идут корабли by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Только на фронте by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Так говорил танкистам политрук by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Лебедев-Кумач – Священная война: стих “Вставай, страна огромная”, текст песни на Poetry Monster by Василий Лебедев-Кумач
• Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Стихи не на тему by Василий Лебедев-Кумач

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

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