Literary Revelations is proud to bring you the poetry of Mykyta Ryzhykh.
BIO
Mykyta is a 22 year old poet from Ukraine, nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has published extensively. I will name just a few journals in which his work appeared:
Dzvin, Dnipro, Bukovinian magazine, Polutona, Tipton Poetry Journal, Stone Poetry Journal, Allegro Poetry Magazine, Alternate Route, Better Than Starbucks, Littoral Press, Book of Matches, Acorn Haiku Journal, The Wise Owl, The Tiger Moth Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Neologism Poetry Journal, Shot Glass Journal, QLRS, The Crank, Chronogram, The Antonym, Monterey Poetry Review, Bending Genres Journal, Cajun Mutt Press, Audience Askew Literary Journal, Spirit Fire Review, The Gravity of the Thing, Star 82 Review, A Thin Slice of Anxiety, The Decadent Review, Corvus Review, American Diversity Report, Unlikely Stories, Triggerfish Critical Review, The Moth, Rock & Sling, ZiN Daily, Stone of Madness, The Cortland Standard, Quarter Press, Schredder, Wilderness House Literary Review, Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, Third Wednesday, Cosmic Double, and Poets Choice.
POEM
Copper night knocks
On the back of the head, asks:
“What street is this?”
And this is not a street,
This is the whole life.
Here at the age
Of 4 I drank sleeping pills,
At 14 I lost my virginity,
At 24 I lost my family,
At 34 my father died (thank God, my father died).
Now I’m free like the cry of a newborn.
I’m single, like when I was born.
A lonely body without everything
Meaningful, invented, composed.
The body, by its movement forward,
Has reached the very beginning.
Ashes close to dust.
And suddenly the night opens its
Lunar hood, and now death looks
At me with its bony eyes.
“Come on, friend,” I said to death,
“I hope you don’t turn me into a zombie.”
The door of cast iron milk opened.
And I started drinking.
My teeth turned black and fell out.
Birds pecked out my eyes.
My body fell off me. Copper night,
Pig-iron milk, golden memory.
And suddenly: emptiness.
Reprint by Crank, May 2023
Thank you for reading and please stay with us. Tomorrow we will announce the publication date of Virginia Witch’s fabulous book Greenlandos.
Slava Ukraini!
OMG,
Only a Ukrainian soul can write such a poem…
Thank you!
🙏
Poetry like a scalpel! A poetry that is not easily forgotten.
Good Morning dear Virginia. I concur.
👋
Nice work ! Just a few publications , 💪🏽
Believe me the list was twice as long. Thank you so much for reading 🙂
Bussa la notte di rame
Sulla nuca chiede:
“Che strada è questa?”
E questa non è una strada,
Questa è tutta la vita.
Qui all’età
Di 4 anni ho bevuto dormendo pillole,
A 14 anni ho perso la verginità,
A 24 ho perso la mia famiglia,
A 34 è morto mio padre (grazie Dio, mio padre è morto).
Ora sono libero come il pianto di un neonato.
Sono single, come quando sono nato.
E ho iniziato a bere.
La porta del latte in ghisa si è aperta.
“Spero che non mi trasformi in uno zombie.”
“Avanti, amico,” dissi alla morte, con i suoi occhi ossuti.
Cappuccio lunare, e ora la morte mi guarda
E all’improvviso la notte spande la sua
cenere prossima alla polvere.
È arrivato proprio all’inizio.
Il corpo, con il suo movimento in avanti,
significato, inventato, composto.
Un corpo solitario e senza tutto
Gli uccelli mi hanno beccato gli occhi.
Il mio corpo è caduto da me.
Notte di rame,
Latte di ghisa, memoria d’oro.
E all’improvviso: vuoto.
.
I translated this beautiful poem from English into Italian with great pleasure and I will publish it quoting the author and yours blog in my Sunday column Gioielli Rubati on December 24th
Thank you from the bottom of my heart dear Flavio. It’s a wonderful poem indeed. A beautiful holiday to you and your family!
greetings to you too!
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this idea Anita
It’s always my please to share beautiful poems dearest Anita.
💗
xoxo
Exquisite!
Thank you Dawn.
Lovely poem. Great job Literary Revelations, for bringing gems to us again and again!
Thank you so very much!
Words that pierce and chill, incredibly articulated by one too young to deal with such adversities and truth. Powerfully written Mykyta… thanks for sharing Gabriela! ❤️❤️❤️
Bello poema.
Poignant!
Indeed.
Wow what an intense poem. Thank you for sharing this undiscovered gem!
My pleasure.
Excellent work!