Troika Ride

Troika Ride

And suddenly our carriage lifted as if
on wings and I nearly touched your hand
as we felt its silver tilt, shiver of brittle air

as the horses shimmied forward, three coquettes
flurrying, flickering, flustering,
breaths unspooling, ballooning as we raced

through a crinolined landscape brimming
white with drape of frail skeins and bracelets
glistening, glancing, glittering,

singing its silence, singing its sadness,
singing strains of Shostakovich
and all the time there was that sough

of hoofbeat in snow, like a pulse, like
heartbeat and I nearly turned to you,
nearly whispered in your ear

Ya tebya lyublyu, ya tebya lyublyu -
I love you, I love you ..............