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Anzhelina Polonskaya, born in the small town of Malakhovka, near Moscow, is the author of several poetry collections, including three available in English: A Voice, Paul Klee’s Boat, and To the Ashes. She is a member of the Moscow Union of Writers and the recipient of the International Words on Borders Freedom Prize. In 2011 the oratorium Kursk, whose libretto consists of ten of her poems, debuted at the Melbourne Arts Festival. In addition to English, her work has also been translated into German, Dutch, Slovenian, Latvian, and Spanish.

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If All the Birds Are Killed

by Anzhelina Polonskaya, translated by Andrew Wachtel
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The year’s passed, though without you. Without you.
By the sea the cape is dark, olive branches bend low.
If there are no pawns, the queen can’t be taken.
If the cape is black, let’s bet it all on red.
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