I couldn’t stand my sentence to the end. The break has failed. They’ll add another year. Write me a letter, my old friends. How goes it in the free world out there? What do you drink? We rarely see booze. Here all we have is goddamn sun and snow... Please, write me, tell me all the news. Nothing ever happens here, you know. I miss you. Miss your mugs a ton! The thought of you makes my day go better. How’s Katie doing? Seeing anyone? If not, then she can also write a letter. It’s Judgment Day-come-early on my soul! A word from you will be a star to guide me. It may not even make it here at all. Still, fellas: go ahead and write me.
© Vadim Astrakhan. Translation, 2017
© Vadim Astrakhan. Performance, 2017