‘My gloom will not be illuminated.’
-from a Cherubina de Gabriak poem
in this house under a pear tree
I lay to rest the overheated verses of my youth
dying in exile for anthroposophical views
my threat distilled to these lines upon the page
wondering what unspoken secret carried me here
to the foothills of the West Tian Shan Mountains
Tashkent’s walls overwhelmed by the Lion Chernyayev
and a Russian Orthodox priest clutching his cross
to echo the destruction rained by Gengis Khan
I now know Voloshin’s prison of discovered places
Apollo, you ignited my star
gentle Voloshin brought the offering
playing the trickster to show the world its folly
crafting my identity to fan their imaginations
conflagration as readers melted with love
Gumilyov became obsessed with my creation
wrote intimate letters to my Silver Age image
more suitable for consumption, mirroring male need
my crippled body hobbled the aspirations of my mind
paeans and poetry, a lyre created for Apollon’s honor
Baroness Cherubina birthed and slain
Gabriak defeated in his impish protection
our ruse exposed through crude sexual aggression
Gumilyov’s love burnished to hate
insisting the duel be fought where Pushkin fell
you will not understand that Cherubina
has never been a game for me
Cherubina was my birth, but, alas, it was a stillbirth –
brine blood of my creative endeavor
I buried her in a child’s coffin at Delphi
mysterious and mystical woman
rich, cloistered, fictitious
within her lay the temptations of sin and my voice,
now cloaked as Li Xiang Zi through another’s invention –
to escape the duality, I must always be fluid
Tell me before the last, will my lands be ever conquered, all my treasures plundered?
* This poem is based in the historical duel between Nikolay Gumilyov and Maximilian Voloshin over the imaginary poet Cherubina de Gabriak (pen name of Elisaveta Dmitrieva)
Posted to Open Link Night at the best place for poetry and camaraderie on the web: http://dversepoets.com/2012/09/18/openlinknight-week-62/
Chromapoetica 
Very cool mix of history, mythology and poetic reality. Love the story-telling narrative feel, the symbols just jumping off the screen. Strong piece, outstanding read. Thanks
I’ve been unable to escape the narrative lately so I figured I’d go with the creative flow and stop fighting. This story jumped out at me, apparently someone wrote a play about this in 2008 but I haven’t been able to find a copy. There’s conflicting historical data as well so I tried to stick to the facts knowing that poetry transcends truth when its at its best. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
very excellent…and Tashkent too, one of my favorite little geographical obsessions. neat.
Oh, so nice to know someone else has geographic obsessions. One day I want to do a 2D world map painting that is so large people have to view it on a zip line. Unlikely to occur but fun to dream about.
i must now go google this duel and imaginary poet….def love your symbolism anna…and vicious imagery as well…the childs coffin enough to set me up…shivers…nice storytelling…and excited you said yes…smiles
Excellent, I hope you find it as intriguing as I did. About that yes, well, I’m in a state of untrammeled delight :)!
I lay to rest the overheated verses of my youth…love that…and then have to check out the background a bit…sounds like an interesting story…a good mix that touches and made me ponder quite a bit as well
Yes, I hoped that intrigue would work better than spelling it all out. There’s little to build upon historically with conflicting accounts. Were any of the poets really lovers? Though you’d imagine that to be true if they were willing to fight a duel. Glad you’re pondering :).
A fascinating mix of history and myth. Has the ring of classic poetry. An enjoyable read this afternoon!
Thank you Mary, very nice to see you again!
you had me at “My gloom will not be illuminated.”
what a fascinating tapestry of words, story, history… (herstory?) … fabulous write!
Haha, it seemed a good place to start :). Thanks Kelly!
I’m fascinated at how two people would argue over an ‘imaginary poet’ lol Just ‘googled’ her and it seems she is quite a mystery too. She died comparatively young too. I find it all so intriguing. Wonderful read again Anna!
Yes, at 41, while in exile. I couldn’t find any of her poems translated into English and her last book was unpublished until the 1980s!
An interesting–well, fascinating and rather revealing–story, Anna. The main character is compelling, and also the two men–Gumilev seems to have been quite a dashing figure, traveling to Africa, and being executed as a traitor by Stalin–and this was Anna Ahkmatova’s husband, for whom she wrote so much amazing poetry. Thanks for writing so eloquently about a woman whose fate was so constrained, as well.
Yes, I think it was Gorky that secured his pardon but the executioner was so swift it never reached them in time. Nabokov considered him a poet for adolescents, yet he was clearly influential at the time. Fascinating stuff to be sure :).
‘My gloom will not be illuminated.’ want to find more of this fascinating write Anna – so much sprang out – childs coffin stillbirth – and the tale of the duel – pondering
Wonderful, ponder away, I know I have been :).
Anna~
Because they empower the woman, hese are my favorite lines:
“mysterious and mystical woman
rich, cloistered, fictitious – within her lay the temptations of sin”
I always enjoy your work, feeling as if your intellect is ever turning, churning, burning and your poetry is but one outlet for the synthesis of fact.
Kim, how wonderful to see you again! Turning, churning, burning – awesome, thank you.
“My gloom will not be illuminated.”…excellent and wonderful.
ayala, your poem left me speechless tonight.
Beautifully told!
I’m glad I went with the narrative and resisted getting experimental. Thank you!
So interesting. This reminds me of The Coast Of Utopia – Tom Stoppard – you’d like it – it is very historical and Russian history has the best personalities! Crazy! k.
Sounds like a great play, thanks so much for the suggestion!
It’s terrific – Russian mid-19th century – Herzen, Belinsky–it’s really three plays in all. You would know the history very well probably and would especially enjoy. k.
I just ordered it :)!
hey anna
you have really pulled this off . . .
its a tricky concept – the narrative style . . . i must give it a bash one of these days . . .
its hard to find the time on
the road ;-D
Nice :), you know Kerouac drank at My Brothers Bar in Denver. The nonprofit I co-founded was a block from there – it’s so famous they don’t have a sign. I do find narrative pieces monstrous but sometimes necessary.
This felt so very classical; I like your storytelling poems. I always feel as though I’ve dropped into them from a different planet. It’s a whole new world – full of adventure, myth, and a different set of poetics. I think this represents new growth in your voice and your explorations. WOW!
Gosh Gay, your generous encouragement always makes me glad I try to write poems. This one stubbornly refused to gel until I researched Tashkent, then somehow the geography gifted me the scaffolding for her psychology.
Brilliantly expressed and instructive. Learned something new. Thank you.
Thanks James, so very nice to see you!
a wonderful thing to be seen clearly and treasured.
Yes, you’ve hit on the emotional core.
writing and reading poetry
such a raw view into real and imagined worlds
she seems incidental to their quarrel
i hope that she was seen clearly
and treasured for herself finally
it would be hard to be exiled from family
there are so many paths aren’t there
we step each day and hope
I think she is incidental too, I interpreted the duel as vanity on Gumilyov’s part and in a way on Voloshin (who was a pacifist but somehow called to defend her honor). Apparently they were a laughingstock in Saint Petersburg at the time. Yes poetry is a raw view that can sometimes ignite intense emotion. Thank you very much for your close attention, you always bring something valuable in your feedback.
I never knew any of this, but now I have to go find out more. Some powerful imagery which brings further life to an already lively narrative.
Thank you, nice to meet you!
i so enjoyed this history rich narrative. it got me on the line to learn more as your work often does. beautiful .
If you were intrigued enough to find out more than I am happy :).
Full of mythical type feel, surely the real deal. Love with myth and adventure is in play, another great verse at your bay.
Thanks Pat, and congratulations again on not missing a single day of blogging. You’re a force of nature.
One always learns of such interesting historical or classical characters, and hear their voices through your work. I doubt I would have come across these if not for reading this poem. I looked the names up on wiki, the poem is enjoyed again all the more. 🙂
I do hope I did her voice some justice. It’s always difficult when there’s very little to go on. With others I often have reams of interviews, artistic output, and letters. With her I had one quote and one tiny poem excerpt. I always appreciate you go the extra mile to delve into the poem as I know you are pressed for time :).
Complex and beautiful Anna ~ wonderful
Polly :)!
A stunning story that only you could tell so well, Anna. I too am intrigued by this narrative of Cherubina…and love your dream of creating a 2D world map painting that needs a zip line to view!
Haha, it would require a warehouse or a museum but I love the idea of people signing release forms to view a painting :)! Thank you!
A stunning poem, Anna– to rival any persona piece ever written. Rich in detail and fluent with regret– remarkable! xxxj
It arrived as an opportunity to write a perhaps meta-persona poem which was an exciting challenge. Thank you very much for the lovely compliment, it’s left me stunned :)!
It’s always fabulous to see your tapestry of history, geography, biography – interwoven so effortlessly to create a rich tableau
Before I started blogging I didn’t pay much attention to biographies, now I seem to get immersed in one every month or two. This story immediately gained my attention and the geography led me to the structure.
Wonderful flex of historical and personal tragectories…emotions and philospohies rubbing shoulders tragically.
I really do enjoy these pieces of yours where you breathe a life into names on the historian’s page.
Yes, the juxtapositions and impossibilities really caught my attention. I try to remember that there are people behind the sensational stories, I hope I did her some justice.
Fascinating narrative. Your voice was clear and intriguing. I am going to google after this so I can sate my curiosity.
overheated verses of my youth – brilliant
Thank you, her voice was particularly difficult but I thought of her as clear eyed and mature in the face of her multiple hardships. Mostly I wanted to afford her some dignity. Lovely to see you :)!