November 24–30, 2008: Alex Galper and Kendall A Bell

less than a second

the car in front
slammed on the breaks : halt!
i learned to keep a distance
and stop
inches away
intuitively glance into the rear view mirror
a jeep is coming
up on me from behind, fast;
the driver is on the phone
in seconds he’ll notice
that i’m at a standstill
but it’ll be too late he’ll slam into me
with the full force of
rear collision
i’ll be thrown forward, 
driving my front bumper
through the one parked in front;
there ain’t nothing to do now
will the bags work ?
i lean back and press my head against the headrest less than a second left.

translated from Russian by Misha Delibash.

elementary cell

a beauty she strolled
into the office
demanding the state pay
for her sex change operation
since her elementary nature
her cellular being is trapped like
a caged nightingale
without a way out of
a 100% homosexual male
who’s already got
the world’s best boyfriend
who is to be her husband
the day after
she gets that dick
sowed on.

i listened: as the fan
pushed stale warm around
the room
i quoted Lao Tzu to her:
“are you capable of understanding
that you know nothing?”
she rushed out of the office
like a scalded animal,
shouting:
“i’ll file a complaint! how dare you!
you’ve got some crazy assholes working here!”

translated from Russian by Misha Delibash.