Я – Наталия Куконина (Нина Кук) – живу в живописном прикарпатском городе Черновцы (Украина) и преподаю английский язык в университете. Пишу поэзию и прозу на украинском, русском и английском языках. Публиковалась в отечественных и зарубежных литературных сборниках и журналах. По-английски начала писать в Англии во время пребывания в Шумахер колледже при Плимутском университете.
My name is Natalia Kukonina (Nina Kook). I live in Chernivtsi – a picturesque city at the foothills of the Carpathian mountains (Ukraine) where I teach English at university. I write poems and stories in Ukrainian, Russian and English. Some of them were published in home and foreign periodicals and literary miscellanies. I started writing in English at Schumacher college (Plymouth University, UK) where I took a course of training.
Poems
I AM AND THE PLANET OF LOVE
I am water…
I’m water
Running through
Your fingers –
You can see me,
You can touch me,
You can taste me
But can’t
Catch
I’m fire
Warming up
Your frozen soul.
You can feel me,
You can trace me,
You can worship me,
But can’t
Catch
I’m a path
Lying under
Your feet.
You can take me,
You can dig me,
You can ignore me,
But can’t
Catch
I’m a bird
Sitting on
Your palm.
You can sing with me,
You can dance with me,
You can catch me,
But can’t
FLY
I am weak…
I’m weak
As a maiden
Ash-tree:
Red ear-rings,
Silky plaits…
And the Wind
An impudent fellow
Sways my slender
Resistless body…
I’m weak
As a little swallow
Bringing worms
For my hungry kids,
And the Hawk
An impudent fellow
Spreads his wings
O’er my loving flight…
I’m weak
As a dying caterpillar,
Lying quietly in
Flower’s embrace,
And the Death
An impudent fellow
Gnaws my cover
And ruins my image…
But I’m not afraid
Of this fellow,
No matter how
To call him –
Hawk, or Wind,
Or Death,
Or Brutality…
That is why
My weakness
Is blessing,
That is why
I’m STRONG.
MY GARMENTS
I put on myself
Everything that is at hand,
Without burrowing in wardrobes,
Choosing in vain,
And suffering for not having found…
I dress my soul in quietude,
Spilt under the sun,
And I plait scarlet satin of dawn
Into my hair,
I dip my eyes into the stars,
And instead of a funny straw hat,
Reminding of haymaking
On summer fields,
I pull the fields over my ears
To scent fresh-mown hay
And sunny silence.
And sky is my attire,
Where soul is at ease,
And white seagulls of my poems
Are soaring on it.
Shoes? I go barefoot.
My feet dive into
The green waves of grass
And swim soundlessly
All day long, until night
Envelopes me in
The serene bliss of oblivion.
And then I don’t need any clothes,
Because I don’t exist…
In the morning I as usual
Put on everything
That is at hand.
But first I look out the window –
It’s raining.
Fine. Silver pearl-drops
Will wind round my neck,
And I shall plait wind
Into my hair…
ALL LIVING BEINGS
Last night
I had
a sweetly
painful
dream –
I understood
the languages of Earth:
I could speak «Green»
to forests, groves
and woods,
and «Yellow Whisper»
to the rattling wheat.
And how amazing –
I was able to sing
the azure song
with flippant babbling
Brook,
and airy lullaby
to tired Wind,
and hymn to Dawn
in concord with the Sun.
A questing Swallow
opened me her heart,
and Elephant
showered river on my head,
and Mother Lioness
was talking of her cubs,
being indignant
with their savage games.
I comforted the lady
and confessed
my sons behaved themselves
the very way.
And I got sick and tired
of the apes
who wanted me to share
their life
and live on trees…
I found an excuse –
I didn’t have a tail
to be like them.
And panting from his run
the Wolf complained:
the Man with a disastrous
shooting stick
had been pursuing him
wanting his life.
And Father Whale,
the wisest of us all,
asked me for help,
and little milky Calf,
his starry eyes
were torturing my soul,
he also prayed for help
being doomed to death.
Oh, child!
What could I do for him?
Averted eyes. But his
were in myself.
Such was my dream,
So real,
aching,
sweet…
It left in me
the fragrance of the fields
and burning wounds –
the Calf’s imploring gaze…
I want to ask you,
Those who’re still asleep:
«DO YOU HAVE CHILDREN?!»
DISCOVERY
Once upon a time
There was a little Bear,
Once upon a time
There lived a little Ant.
But never
never
never
They never saw each other,
And even if they did –
They didn’t know that.
When a little Ant
Was looking at the Bear,
He thought it was a mountain
Or at least a tree,
He loved to climb it up,
And he could even hear
The roaring sounds of wood –
The Bear’s song of glee.
When a little Bear
Was looking at the insect,
He didn’t know what
Could clever bears think.
He thought ‘twas grain of sand,
Or maybe drop of resin,
Or maybe something else-
He didn’t try to link.
But once upon a time
Our heroes had their birthdays,
And they were given gifts –
The best ones on the Earth:
A magnifying glass
The Ant received on Thursday,
And Bear – microscope
That took out his breath.
What happened to them two-
An earthquake or a thunder-
I dare not be a judge,
But they forgot themselves.
Because
because
because
They saw a real wonder:
THE BEAR AND THE ANT
And even something else.
That “else” was so deep,
That “else” was more than Bear,
That “else” was less than Ant,
That “else” was something else,
They couldn’t see that “else”,
Taste, touch, or even hear,
That “else” helped them discover
The greatness of the Earth.
EVERYTHING
Every thing in the world has its tune.
Every tune is the basis for music.
Every music is composed of melodies,
Every melody is a combination of rhythms,
Every rhythm means changes in counting
And counting is represented by figures.
Every figure is a symbol of reality.
Reality consists of moments and events,
They last non-stop reflecting eternal beauty.
The beauty is the strokes of Nature’s brush.
It paints prodigally in different colours.
Every colour is a voice of feeling.
Every feeling gives birth to thought.
Every thought is a combination of vibrations.
Every vibration has its tune………………….
MORNING
Early Morning,
Sleepy and dim,
Awakens into the pink
Clothes of Dawn,
And, blushing and hurrying,
Jumps into the broad river
Of light and swims into
Day, energetic and busy,
That after its endless run
Along the roads, paths, corridors,
Nerves, stresses, appointments,
Telephone calls, agreements
And disagreements
Sinks heavily into the armchair
Of 5 o’clock Tea,
Drinking it slowly and solemnly,
It relaxes and stretches
Into Twilight,
Changing its smart daily suit
For a dusky dressing – gown.
And, step by step,
Losing colour,
Strength and desire
Dives in the Black Sea of Night,
Meaning silence and non-existence.
Then bored and tired of
Darkness and stillness
Night goes to the bathroom,
Shuffles the leavings of gloom
Drowsiness and estrangement,
And washes off its sadness
With early morning dews.
Again, sleepy and dim,
Sometimes more –
Sometimes less,
(With this one difference)
Early morning
Awakens into the pink
Clothes of Dawn…
And nothing can break
This ritual, even my son’s
cherished dream to miss Morning
and wake up into Day.
We are building a Planet of LOVE.
We are building
A Planet of LOVE.
The building materials are
Our bodies and souls.
Joanna, Paul,Chris and Alice,
How beautiful is the Sky
Created of the blue light
Of your infant Eyes.
Olga, Svetlana, Bjorn, Lucia,
How bright and generous
Are the Sun Rays
Weaven out of your
Shining Hair.
Taras, Alexander, Leonardo, Orion,
How strong and powerful
Are Trees
Grown out of your Bodies.
And how quick and singing
Are the Rivers
Reflecting your smiling Souls,
Maria, Shoshana, Merche, Jean-Jacques.
Miraculous Flowers are embodiment
Of your blossoming Youth,
Thomas, Ketino, Laima, and Kazbek.
And you, Dulci, Zuzana, Michel and Hilde,
Are eternal Butterflies
Of Hope and Peace.
High and majestic
Are the Mountains
Of your Thoughts and Dreams,
Andrea, Lothart, Pradeep, Rosa and Stephan.
And how noble and straight
Are the Roads
Of your Intentions and Deeds,
Vesna, Eliseo, Ahmed and Sophie.
We are building
A Planet of Love,
We are growing it in our
Hearts,
We are nourishing it in our
Minds,
And sharing it with you,
FRIEND !