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From Resurrection to Sunday

from  resurrection to sunday 
we cross off dates on the calendar
waiting for salvation
 
it comes in an appearance of mountain air
in the gas chamber of a city
 
silvery ants
drag stones up to the summit
rub against steel sides
 
itching
tracks left on the neck from a tight collar
 
under quilted clouds
 
© Aigerim Tazhi. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2012 by J. Kates. All rights reserved.

 

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Poetry From the September 2012 issue: Writing from the Silk Road

Aigerim TazhiAigerim Tazhi

Aigerim Tazhi’s debut book of poetry, “БОГ-О-СЛОВ” (“THEO-LOG-IAN”), was published in 2003. She received numerous literary prizes in Kazakhstan and Russia for the poems in the collection. In the years since, her work has been featured in several prominent literary magazines, including Druzhba Narodov, Novaya Yunost, Apollinariy, and others. Her work has been translated into English, French, and Armenian. She was one of the creators of a project of literary installations, “The Visible Poetry,” in 2009. In 2011 she was a finalist for the prestigious Debut Prize in poetry. She lives in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 

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Translated from RussianRussian by J. KatesJ. Kates

J. Kates is a poet and literary translator who lives in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire.

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