Decembrist by Kate Zangrilli for Ilya Tsvetovat* I put the diamonds to sleep miles below the switchboard I have no dice to keep. The servant words blink asunder. Cold. That much is false. Your English lacks the vocabulary of our terrain. Terror is ten years mining coal and gold while your hair freezes to your face with spit and your blood is white with ice. You want me to speak-speak? of it. I cannot see it; I can see only it. These are the things I cannot say wrapped in stars and wind to the bus stop. * Ilya Tsvetovat was a Jewish shopkeeper from St. Petersburg. He spent 10 years in Siberia, immigrated to the US, and is now 80 and suffering from Alzheimer's. He lives in Eagan. © 2002 by Kate Zangrilli. All rights reserved. Home