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/