Shluha Vokzal'naja (Train Station Whore)
by gerard varni
“мистер, мистер.”
“I'm sorry, I don't speak Russian.”
Okay meester, meester man
I have favor, and i will favor you.
In my room is my младенец,
I mean my little one. She is hungry,
Sucking dry air. My молоко, that
Says milk, is not good. I can't make.
одолжение, kindness from you, i must
умолять, be begging. i see her life leaving.
Her eyes are sadness, no more strong
To cry. Follow me to ванная, to the
Toilet. Take my hand. Please, only 336
Rubles, that is favor to me and baby.
She is Анжелика, Anzhelika.
Please, meester man, I do favor for
You, too. 336 rubles, 10 American dollars.
Oh, and благодарю, the thanks I mean.
Your hand in mine and now we walk
To the toilet, and both have favors.
The life is so much better when people
do things good, yes?
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Author's Note
really, does it matter?
Other stories by gerard varni
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"really, does it matter?"
Life?
Yeah, it matters...
;-)
*and* I liked this and think it's really well done.
*
Well-written
thanks, matt, sam and bill. the poem is a bit awkward with the mixed russian and english. but the title is the crux of the thing. without it, the story seems so heart-rending, which clearly it is not.
and matt, the "really, does it matter" refers to authors' notes, not to life. i believe life does matter; otherwise, why bother to write at all?
I like this a lot, Gerard. I'll have to read more of your stuff. (Linguistic question: my Russian is now so rusty as to be almost non-existent but in Slovak, where I am fluent, "mladenec", which you have in line 3, would have to be masculine. In Russian does it refer to both genders?). That aside, I love the grit. Bratislava, my hometown, is full of people like this and their stories. *
thanks, andrew. to be honest, i am not certain if "mladenec" is masculine or feminine in russian. i have difficulty with foreign genders. strictly a verbal thing, though. i have recently read some of your work and enjoy it immensely. i will comment when i can come up for a breath. working at my real job to put tofu on the table, and spending the rest of the time writing fiction and poetry. sucks to be my family right now.