Читать книгу Late Empire - Lisa Olstein - Страница 13

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON

Maestro, meet me in the dark.

The truth is we prefer it this way,

stumble-gay and keening, I mean

preening, like the black-tongued

parrots on permanent display.

Herman the Giant German

Rabbit suffers exactly one fool

per day, the smiling silver one

bringing him food on a scuffed

aluminum tray. Past a certain age,

you don’t ask a woman how she does

her hair no matter how elaborate

the braid. Straight queens and dry

drunks, fellow former future kings,

the gerbils of Kazakhstan—desert

rats, in point of fact—have something

to tell us about death riding shotgun

in our subway cars. Life is always

left-handed. Sleeping bees are

immobile bees whose bodies and legs

hang in the direction of gravity.

Lucky ones who find homes,

don’t expect the left-behind to

thank you for remembering.