Ekaterinburg
The house is built on a slope
the water here is very good
in the bathtub the water looks light blue
yesterday, like every day
we went for a walk til teatime
the sun was very warm
it penetrated the windows of the second floor
I write to you in semi darkness
the windows have been whitewashed
the white colour is unpleasant
it’s bad for mama’s headaches
Today seems colder
but the thermometer is indecipherable
if you want to write to me
my address is Ekaterinburg,
the Regional Committee, To the chairman,
to be given to me
we don’t think they will send us
to another place.
(from the letters of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna - aged 19)
- © John Bartlett 2020
John Bartlett is the author of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. In 2019 his first Chapbook The Arms of Men was published and Songs of the Godforsaken in June 2020. His full collection Awake at 3am will be released by Ginninderra Press later in 2020. He was the winner of the 2020 Ada Cambridge Poetry Prize. He lives on the southern coast of Australia.
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