Mariinski Theatre - Summer Afternoon

MARIINSKI  THEATRE  -   SUMMER AFTERNOON

Crowds sweep past   anonymous
Each a lost individual.  
A  Russian voice  unsmiling -
The girl looks  western with heavy mascara
Trying to ape  a skinny euro-model.
Her man could have stepped from a tv show - 
Russian face with blue jeans and  MP3 in ear. 
They are  a lost nation.
The folk-tune accordion on the corner
Is drowned  by decibels of ABBA
And ostentatious  noise 
From SUVs and stretch limos.

Cyrillic letters are swamped with latin alphabet
McGonalds is brighter and bigger than home cafes
Home  signs  are outshone by  Cepsie Pola
The  palaces  are topped with neon not crosses.

Native culture has committed suicide
It has left home in search
Of an alien ideal



Note:

Mariinski Theatre was better known in the west for many years  as the Kirov Theatre.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2010

Poem

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Kendrick Avatar
November 17, 2010 at 1:42 PM
Interesting and educational..Sara
Mehta Avatar
November 17, 2010 at 1:28 PM
What an emotional expression.. Native culture has committed suicide and left home in search of an alien ideal, nice remembrance of the Kirov Theatre
Smalling Avatar
November 17, 2010 at 9:47 AM
I like this ... a touch of Sylvia Plath and Allen Ginsberg
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