Two poems // Senia Hardwick

the art of cruelty index

poetics

the neutral

29

23-26, 139, 251, 266

145

137

24, 148

101, 164-65, 168, 169-171

phaedrus

Here’s Grishka

here is Гришка. spoken like a true peasant. correction: this is the Slavic way. correction: he brags of how he could not read. ‘we were not from the שטעטל’ my aunt tells me. city dwellers, travelers, Симеон went to

Switzerland with дядя Гео́ргий. something about the distinction tastes sour. no one could

choose better. I made $150 reading a man’s novel. $18.64 towards groceries: horseradish cheese, high-protein

peanut butter ice cream, spicy olives, one onion (red), six brown eggs, beefsteak tomato, and

boxed mac and cheese. the ambassador misspoke. Гришка was no козел. распутье. debauchery. Гришка barred the

door when the Хлыстый monk approached, uninterested in the mode of his own generous

father. he was an avid reader, perhaps a bear. I chose olives over frying cheese. I can eat the whole pint at once without feeling bad. Деду said

my eyes were sky blue pink, like the Tsarina’s wee clouds amidst the winter. other things I would like to buy: floral shirts (men’s), hangers, $4 lipsticks. mon crayon pour les yeux s'apelle <<Chevalier>>. Симеон tore up his plane ticket mistaking it for мусор. I’m panicking over my expired passport. where are your papers? est-ce que vous avez votte papiers? Где банк? Приданое Марии Распутин составляло 3000 рублей. Гришка’s favorite foods as boy were pickled fish and stuffed eggs. a traditional Siberian picnic was salted cucumbers and wine. Бабу battered pumpkin flowers and fried them with salt. I recreated the recipe with some success and Bisquik. after his brother died he refused to eat.

Гришка - Grishka – diminutive of Gregori used by Rasputin to refer to himself. שטעטל- shtetl, written right to left - small towns with large Jewish populations in Europe before the Holocaust Симеон – Simeon – also known as Senia, poet’s great great grandfather. Full name: Simeon Lazarovitch Megiroff, likely Симеон Лазарович Мэжироф, ж changed to g sound to Americanized. Recovering the spelling has proved impossible up to the current draft. дядя Гео́ргий – dyadya Georgi – uncle Georgi Plekhanov, lived (exile?) in Switzerland from 1880 to 1917, returning after the 1917 February Revolution. козел - kozel – goat, in slang can refer to an informer or as a slur to name someone the passive member of homosexual coupling Распутье – Rasput’ye – crossroads. one of the two claimed roots for Rasputin’s family name, the other being debauchee. Хлыстый – Khlysty – belonging to the Khlysts, a sect of the Russian Orthodox Church rumored to participate in orgies and self-flagellation Деду – Dedu – shortened form of дедушка, grandfather Mon crayon pour les yeux s'apelle <<Chevalier>>. – my eye pencil is called “Chevalier.” Chevalier meaning knight. (NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil 626). Мусор – Musor – Garbge. Est-ce que vous avez votre papiers? – do you have your papers/identification? Где банк? – gdyeh bank – Where is the bank? Приданое Марии Распутин составляло 3000 рублей. - Pridanoye Marii Rasputin sostavlyalo 3000 rubley – Maria Rasputin’s dowry was 3000 rubles. this refers to the money given to her to bring into her husband’s family, rather than money paid to the Rasputin family. Бабу – Babu – Shortened form of бабушка, grandmother

//

Senia Hardwick is an MFA candidate at Queens College. They are making a foray into both confessional and experimental work. Their favorite emojis that their internet browser supports are

however they also enjoy the dagger, and trash can emoji. Their website is www.seniahardwick.wordpress.com. IG: necro.pharmakon.