**A Poem by Andrei Sen-Senkov**

SOAKED PACEMAKERS

instead of crosses round their necks
hang
tiny gas chambers of silver
gleaming golden guillotines
bits of gulag barbed wire in amber
shards of shrapnel expertly shaped by jewelers
small gallows with silken nooses
platinum racks
spanish boots incrusted with diamonds

all of these objects resemble the falling digits
of the cold number rain
slapping the heart’s cheeks
on auto-redial

(date unknown, translated by ainsley morse)

source: https://www.poetryinternational.com/en/poets-poems/poems/poem/103-27937_

andrei sen-senkov (b. 1968) is a russia poet originally hailing from tadjikistan > sen-senkov is internationally known for his visual poetry > when a civil war broke out in 1992, sen-senkov emigrated to russia where he worked as a doctor > in october 2022, sen-senkov emigrated again, this time to almaty, kazakhstan's most important city and Former capital

for an interview with andrei sen-senkov focusing on his exile, go here: https://thealmareview.wordpress.com/2023/11/30/1504/ > note: the interview also contains a tongue-in-cheek reference to viktor tsoi, the greatest soviet rock star, himself of koryo-saram (north korean) descent