Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Pay No Attention to Time

I am standing over a group of fountains at Alexander Gardens near the Kremlin wall. I watch an endless stream of Russian tourists pose with a large bronze statue of an old man looking into the mouth of a fish. I think that I remember some of the story at least. The poor old man finally catches a fish. There is a conversation between the fish and the man and the fish makes the man a promise if the man will release him. The fish opens its mouth and there the man finds a gold coin. Perhaps you can fill in the rest of the story.

Each person poses with his or her individual gestures and arrangement. One holds the old man's arm tightly and leans forwards, another girl pretends to kiss the old man, another makes an obscene gesture for the two in the camera, still another jumps into the old man's arms. The old man's arm is worn and shiny, polished bronze from the touch of so many poses with visitors.

Two giddy teenage girls push each other close to the water. First their feet are in, then up to their knees in water, then they are swimming in the fountain. They are laughing and lightly jabbing each other with light-hearted arguing. A Moscow police man nearby eyes them coldly but quietly.

The girls get out of the water and disappear for a short time then show up below me, climbing to the top of another bronze sculpture of the fox and grapes. Some boys are photographing them. The girls twist and turn lithely up, up to the top of the statue then quickly down. They disappear again, shortly to show up at some small gentle falls that that are tiered in different levels. They take turns sitting on a flat wet tear making sexy poses of each other, laughing and taking turns. They disappear again.

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