STILL NEWLYWEDS
by Ilya Kaminsky
You step out of the shower and the entire nation calms--
a drop of lemon-egg shampoo,
you smell like bees,
a brief kiss,
I don’t know anything about you—except the spray of freckles on your shoulders!
which makes me feel so thrillingly
alone.
I stand on earth in my pajamas,
penis sticking out--
for years
in your direction.
About the author
Ilya Kaminsky was born in Odessa, former Soviet Union in 1977, and arrived to the United States in 1993, when his family was granted asylum by the American government. He is the author of Deaf Republic (Graywolf Press) and Dancing In Odessa (Tupelo Press) and co-editor and co-translated many other books, including Ecco Anthology of International Poetry (Harper Collins) and Dark Elderberry Branch: Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva (Alice James Books).