Through Moscow's chills, they keep the heater cranked up:
shoeless, shirtless, clad in oversized jeans and
baggy cargos---respectively---socksheathed and
barefoot. Their window views the Cathedral of
Vasily the Blessed.
J-Called
Author's Notes/Comments:
My earliest interest in Russia, or the former and now defunct Soviet Union, was first stirred by a five week project during the Civics class required during freshman year in high school. Three and a half, or so, years later, I purchased a copy of Boris Pasternak's novel, Doctor Zhivago, on Saturday, November 20th, 1976, from my college's bookstore, the first day of finals week. Of my three classes that term, only one required an in-class final, which was held that morning before I purchased the book. I was fearful that my parents would question this, so, before the six week Holiday break began, I asked them to bring me home on Tuesday, November 23rd; and I read the novel to past the waiting time, while my then roommate (whom I actively disliked) toiled to study for three finals. The novel was my first, but admittedly superficial, exposure to the Faith of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The poem is ekphrastic; V & S are a young Homosexual couple resident in Moscow. Their dislike of shoes and shirts is part of their mutual Beauty.
