A Soviet Paining by Nikolai Solomin ‘She Did Not Wait’

the painter forces us to see her belly

quickly, pins our eyes to it, makes her

wear an ivory dress with yellow flowers

paints the blackness of the well’s deep

opening behind her

to make the belly pop

she responds by not looking

at the soldier, attends to the water

feels sure about it & almost too sure as

the soldier looks at all of her openly, tries

to catch her eye & knowing he has every

right to & almost cocky about it

to another man in this painting

& not in this painting

oh darling . . .

Between two lovers . . . there’s always a little corner here that’s always unknown to the whole world and is known only to the two of them

Dostoevsky said this in Crime and Punishment

just before Svidrigailov meets Dunya & locks

the room & corners her!

but Dunya has a loaded gun! & aims it right at him!

He had never yet seen her so beautiful

oh Dunya . . .

another man in this novel

is the main character:

all day all day all day all night

he lies on the ragged sofa that isn’t his

he lies there & plots & waits

to kill one particular person

& kills two