OCTOBER 28, 1910

Oh it was crowded in that little house!
Packed with angels it was and all of them
Had their wings furled tight but more
Kept crowding in. Orthodox angels
Were crammed against Doukhbors
Who had their noses pressed against
The lordly ears of the Nestorians;
There were even some Islamic angels
Who had known the dying man
Since he was a soldier in the Caucasus.

Since she is at every Russian train station
Anna was there too, waiting to throw herself
Under the 6:08 out of Yelets. Tolstoy
Breathed his last at 6:05. The train pulled in;
Anna climbed the steps and boarded.
Their was no room in first class, which was jammed
With angels hurrying on to Moscow but an ifrit,
Riding in second, gave her his seat.

TRAITORS

Having lived among traitors I can assure you
That between treasons they are the kindest of men
Penniless, alone in a strange place, seek them out.
If there is no profit for them in your loss
They will drink with you, teach you songs, listen to you
And, when you have grown fat again and your secrets
Have some value, one of them --the one the others
Never suspected -- may sell them all to you.