*
i followed you, you followed me
i followed you, you followed me
i submitted to you, you didn’t submit to me
i applied pressure, pulled some strings
the issue was pressing, the press was issuing
i was in the mood, you were in the neighborhood
i was well-dressed, you were addressed
i read the rest to you, let’s revert
resort to now, whose turn is it
which corner is taken
while guarding the gate
i was regarded as this and that
гардины висят, вагоны стоят
you were restarted or annoyed
i am an angel aufs neue
where is this coming from
refer to the manuscript
*
do not let clouds settle on your manuscript
do not include manipulations in your manuscript
do not manhandle your manuscript
settle at a distance from some men’s manuscripts
keep their hands away from your manuscript
keep your script handy
pull stunts, trust your instincts, let it stink
do not step on your manuscript
keep your movements steady
feet cold, palms open
heart headed one way
do not head toward another manuscript
keep it scripted
house aslant
slither slowly
lick your manuscript
give it a licking
give it a lacking
do not acknowledge
day after today
do stray with your manuscript
do stay not du
not you stay with a manuscript
push canonically
pull the cord
*
it took me time
it took me some time
it took me some other time
it took me some time either way
it took me to the other side
it took me across
it took me one way or another
it took me by task
it took me at dawn
it took me taking a while
i was slow on the uptake
it took me far
it took me for a toucan
it took me all the way
it took me at break-neck speed
it took me dodging
it took me and my doggy
it took us to many cats
all of them were at stake
it was taken artfully
i was taken by several stories
i was taken to a store which was multistoried
i had to step on the stair
i couldn’t give up being taken
i was heavily influenced by that scene
i had many takes on it
some were mistaken
they had to be taken off
the table
Inna Krasnoper is a poet and artist born in Ufa (Bashqortostan) and based in Berlin. Her Russophone poetry collections include Нитки торчат (Loose Threads), published by the Voznesensky Center, and Дорогой человек (Dear Person), published by NLO. Her English-language poetry has appeared in her chapbooks Over Sight (Eulalia Books, 2024) and Sealed (Black Sunflowers Poetry Press, 2024), as well as in Annulet, Ghost Proposal, Poetry Daily, Pocket Samovar, Oversound, SAND, TILT, and 128 LIT. Krasnoper's full-length English-language poetry collection dis tanz is forthcoming from Veliz Books in March 2025.