Reading Instructions
Translated By Katie Farris & Ilya Kaminsky
Translated from the Ukrainian
A Russian citizen
took to the streets
with a sign that read war.
The Russian police
shoved him into a prison van.
Other Russians
watched carefully,
filming on their phones.
A Russian woman
took to the streets
with a sign that read peace.
The Russian police
shoved her into a prison van.
More Russians
began lining up
to enter the van
with signs
and without.
Other Russians
watched carefully,
filming on their phones.
ii.
A Russian soldier
began reading,
the bearded Russian’s novel.
Didn’t make it past the cover.
Didn’t need to.
At school, they taught him
To read between the lines.
Source: Poetry (December 2025)