Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0002420, Mon, 6 Oct 1997 10:28:01 -0700

Subject
*Dark Ice* IV (fwd)
Date
Body
IV
Three died (August, 1991).
But more or less, through lurching politics
Gun steel stayed cold; witnesses remained,
Felt and withstood fear's pliers through the night.
Most tank-crews disobeyed their orders; held;
Restrained steel treads (from crushing blood-stuck flesh
100 Or bursting screams in lungs, minds smeared
from heads);
Heartbeats but stopped a moment; then went on.
A man sat near a heap of paving stones,
Bottle of gasoline between his boots,
Discussing false dawn with an architect;
People stood smoking by a barricade
(Jumble of twisted reinforcing rods,
Old heavy plumbing, wooden pallets, doors).
They're biodegradable, these apple cores.