Galina Italyanskaya





Autumn

Autumn, looking fragile like a russula,
Orphaned like a lone aspen leaf,
Tiptoeing into winter by the edge of the forest
Carefully,
Whispering, 'Turn away,
Do not peer!'
And wrapping herself in the dark-blue twilight
Like in a thinnest pellucid shawl,
Hand in hand with the rain,
Is going towards
The first morning hoarfrost,
The first snowfall...
So pitiful!
‘cause all of them, autumns, are different,
And this one, waving her hand goodbye,
A charming ginger gray-eyed damsel,
Will vanish somewhere behind the stream.
And after the next summer, sooner or later,
Another autumn will suddenly come,
With no slightest glimmer of recognition
In the very same innocent clear grey eyes,
So similar to her, but still unrepeatable,
Like her younger sister or her own child.
Then, discarding the power of gold, she will leave me,
Disappear in the darkness of winter's night.








Dancing Tree

Winter, winter, come again!
Bring a snowfall in the dawn,
Clothe the forest in your gown,
Bleach the conscience of a man!

I would flee to pray for us
From the town in the dusk.
Much to say and more to ask...
Icy silence - broken glass.

Through the forest white and still,
By the river sleeping tight,
Skiing in the ghostly light,
Sliding faster down the hill...

Childish dreams of fairness,
Freezing breath around my face,
Starlight, piercing through the space -
Cold is nothing, dark is less.

I recall a dancing tree
By the ski track long ago
In the moonlight, in the snow
Always naked, lone and free.

If it knew the fate of mine,
I would beg to tell me why
We must live in lies and die,
Cannot catch each other's eye.

But the snowfield of my past
Has been swallowed by the town,
And the magic tree has gone -
No more dancing, no forecast.








Tanka

***
Autumn is cryptic -
Gather anonymous mail,
Leafing it through:
Yellow, and purple, and red,
Kisses are flitting around.

***
Nothing is endless:
Promises given to fail,
Snowing in April...
Lilacs are blooming again,
Balmy as life after death.

Schrödinger's Comet*

Have I finally burnt to death in his glare?
Am I still alive to sink in the night?
Come from nothing to touch him
And gone nowhere
Out of mind as soon
As out of sight.

* Schrödinger's comet is another name for ISON (comet C/2012 S1) visited our solar system in the end of 2013.
This poem was written when its fate after perihelion passage was still undefined.




Galina Italyanskaya


Galina Italyanskaya, 42 y.o., born in the USSR in a small northern town, and now living in Russia with her children and working as an English teacher. Since the early childhood she’s been in love with nature: dense forests, rivers and lakes, mountains and seas. Actually, its beauty surrounds her all her life. She has travelled a lot, and it is always a source of inspiration. Her other interests are photography and art. She loves to draw pictures, and she hardly can imagine going on a trip or just for a walk without a camera. Galina has written poetry since her school years. About 10 years ago she composed her first poem in English, inspired by her friend from abroad. And thanks to poetry she’s found many good friends all over the world. In 2015 she joined “Poets Unite Worldwide” group, and some of her poems were published in their anthologies.