I have so many feelings

Yes, I lived. The State hung me up by the feet, I saw
St. Petersburg’s daughters, swans,
I learned the grammar of gulls’ array
and found myself for good
down Pushkin Street, while memory
sat in the corner, erasing me with a sponge.

I’ve made mistakes, yes: in bed
I compared government
to my girlfriend.
Government! An arrogant barber’s hand
shaving off the skin.
All of us dancing happily around him.

From Ilya Kaminsky’s “Musica Humana.” I’ve been meandering through some Eastern European voices this morning, in a dilettantish preparation for moving to Ukraine, and I was really struck by this poet. I’m probably late to the party on this one, but I recommend!