The Road to Vyborg
On the road to Vyborg
I try to count the dead
on my hands, but run out
of fingers.
The road is dangerous
and this is Russia,
you say.
Over and over again.
You took me,
from the smoke
to the white castle.
Where dogs
half wolf
greet me like an old friend
and the cave hides a Sadko
turned to stone with age.
At your Dacha you have a bear
wrestled and killed
in Murmansk.
And nothing is a mystery
as we drink tea and eat biscuits.
I try to reconcile what I have seen
with your tea party.
Julie Egdell is a writer from Newcastle Upon Tyne with an MA in Creative Writing. She has been published in The Break Out Anthology, Dreamcatcher, The Wilds Anthology, The Cadaverine and many more. To find out more visit http://theadventuresofpenelopenewcastle.weebly.com/