Speaking In Tongues

Scribbling In Voices

YURY STROYKOV
POEMS FROM IOWA

Walking on Water

Big Secret

In the Middle of the Dream

WALKING ON WATER

It was early autumn. The wind blew hard. We were

awakened by the cry of a little bird. Suffocating

among the waves. Struggling in the foam.

But the wild wind kept it from rising up. And you

rushed to the water. To overtake, to save.

I also ran. But there was no bird. The waves had

seized it.

Then we were lying on the cool sand again. The

storm had gone away. And the sun shone.

The seagulls sat peacefully on the water. Another

pair--like you and me--appeared in the distance.

11 September 1995

Mayflower, Iowa City

Lifted from: 100 Words, Vol.3, #1

BIG SECRET

(scenes from a B-movie)

Baryshnikov ballet

Batman forever

Blood on the tracks

Breaking the rules

Bright lights

Big city

Blues in your shoes

Boxers battle

Brooklyn bridge

Broadway bitch

Burritos

Banderas

Bronx tales

Bowery sales

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Big Apple Dream

Bulletproof windows

Brighton Beach widows

Broadcasting Bette Midler

Bruce Willis Ben Kingsley

Barnum and Bailey

T. Boyle and John Barth

Bagels with cheese

Buildings for lease

Bacardi Bananas

Belasco Broadhurst

Bunches of roses

Beautiful poses

Breakdown Bob Dylan

Bernstein

Better budget

Budweiser on tap

Black people rap

Big wheels turning

Baseball and bowling

I'm breathless

It's boring

Big secret . . .

Lifted from: 100 Words, Vol.3, #3

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DREAM

IT WAS NOVEMBER THIRD, Three days after Halloween. I spent several hours standing on the corner of Eighth Street and Third Avenue in Greenwich Village, New York City, where the main procession of relaxed and crazy people happened to be. I was with my Russian friends, Olga, Vadim, and Sergei. It was an unusual holiday for me, and we all had a lot of fun. Next, of course, we visited a new Russian restaurant on the corner of Second Street and Second Avenue. It's easy to remember. The name of the restaurant, surprisingly, is "Anyway." We had lots of fun there too. Taking the cab back to my friends' house in New Jersey gave us another funny moment. The way was underwater. Isn't that funny?

The next day, I left for Washington, D.C., by fast train. I sat near the window in a nearly empty car and dreamt a little. Images of New York, Halloween masks, and the red Russian faces of "Anyway" became one big B-movie, maybe because of the paperback on my knee. Its author is Don Miller, and the double feature lives on in this fascinating look at the history of B-movies! When I woke up, I tried to write down what I'd seen. Here's what happened: