‘Darling, Tonight I Went Out Late …’

Abstract

Darling, tonight I went out late / to breathe the fresh air coming from the ocean. / The sunset was dying in an amphitheatre like a Chinese fan / and a cloud billowed like the lid of a concert piano. / / A quarter century ago you had a weakness for lyulya-kabob⁺ and dates, / did ink drawings in your sketchbook, sang a little, / had fun with me, then began living with a chemical engineer / and, judging by your letters, grew awfully stupid. / / Now they often see you in church, in the provinces and in the capital, / at memorial services for our mutual friends, which nowadays happen / one after another; and I’m happy that there are in the world distances more / inconceivable than the one between you and me.