Thank You in Several Languages

by Andrei Sen-Senkov
translated by Anna Halberstadt

grief can’t be drowned in alcohol
grief knows, how to swim in it

in the ethyl california of your stomach
in the methyl black sea of the brain

it gets out onto the beach at times
basks in the sun
makes selfies
lies in a chaise lounge
leaves through the first random book
and gets paper cuts

one has no desire to kneel
in front of people
who write such books

one wishes to be born
legless