a letter
Author: Ivan Ovcharenko
today i wrote a letter
to a woman i never
met
she was given
six years in prison
for the words
she
never
said
i told her
about my job
about my neighbor’s
white
rabbits
i often watch from my
window
they like lying in the sun
and munching on sticks
i told her about
how i wish i could read
more marx
(she is also a socialist)
but end up watch anime
i told her about
my favorite poem
that i wrote
i told her to carry on
to persevere
i told her that she was
strong
on the international women’s
day
i wished her not
equality
but
freedom
i wish i could tell her
more
but the mail is looked through
by the state
censor
so politics
is a no-no
even for political
prisoners
i told her it was
rainy
today
in yerevan
i told her that many people
gave money to
help refugees
i did not specify
where they come
from
or why they are in need
of a refuge
in the first place
i told her
there’s hope
i told her i like diet
coke
i did not know why
i doubt they have coke
in prisons
i didn’t know what
to tell her
a woman i
didn’t know
a woman given
six years in prison
i feel like i wanna puke
from stress
i wish i knew what
she would tell me
in response to my
letter
but
unfortunately
i couldn’t leave
my
address
i wish i could really
help
her
i wish
there was
anything
i could do
other than
write
this
letter
i wish i could write it
better
i wish there would be no
need
for me to write
it
as such
am i asking for
too
much?