© Rick K. Reut, 2025
ISBN 978-5-0068-1881-1
Создано в интеллектуальной издательской системе Ridero
O
СОБРАНИЕ
OF
CYCLIC
СТИХОТВОРЕНИЙ
ONE OF
ВОЗМОЖНЫХ
ВЕРСИЙ
(TIME)
…as time flies fast – unless GOD cuts its wings.
But then time seems to simply start to run
out of space. Time sometimes only brings
slow-motion sighing from the setting sun.
Yes, time can heal; but time can also kill
like a wind blowing out candles. When a rain-
storm starts, you feel all you can feel until
you come to find out if it is in vain…
…as time flies fast – unless GOD cuts its wings. But then time seems to simply start to run out of space. Time sometimes only brings slow-motion sighing from the setting sun. Yes, time can heal; but time can also kill like a wind blowing out candles. When a rainstorm starts, you feel all you can feel until you come to find out if it is in vain…
January 2004
(ДОРОГОЙ ВЕРЫ)
…снова, снова и снова.
Будучи не только словом,
небо стало Дорогой
Веры, ведущей к БОГУ…
…снова, снова и снова. Будучи не только словом, небо стало Дорогой Веры, ведущей к БОГУ…
Август 2004
(THE WILL)
…around a parking lot
of words that may be not
there. You need some more
time for another chance
to understand why no war
of words makes any sense.
When the stars leave the sky,
sometimes it starts to drown
in the dark rising high
enough to erase a town.
Always obeying the Will
of GOD, things go still…
…around a parking lot of words that may be not there. You need some more time for another chance to understand why no war of words makes any sense. When the stars leave the sky, sometimes it starts to drown in the dark rising high enough to erase a town. Always obeying the Will of GOD, things go still…
December 2004
(ONLY ONE)
…sure that GOD is
THE ONLY ONE
WHO can know this.
If time can run
out, can there be
an End of Time?
Or is Time free
of ending? I’m…
…sure that GOD is THE ONLY ONE WHO can know this. If time can run out, can there be an End of Time? Or is Time free of ending? I’m…
September 2005
(BEFORE IT’S HIS WILL)
…before it’s HIS Will.
Another day
begins to fill
another way
to a parking lot
of words. At night,
you catch a thought
train and write
you don’t really know
what. Only HE
does but doesn’t show
what it should be…
…before it’s HIS Will. Another day begins to fill another way to a parking lot of words. At night, you catch a thought train and write you don’t really know what. Only HE does but doesn’t show what it should be…
November 2005
(BOTH WAYS)
…which sounds and smells like looks
can be deceptive to taste.
They differ in different books.
Many words go to waste.
The present becomes the past
whereas the future is clear
only to GOD. Your last
chance to defeat your fear
may be right now. Or may-
be some other time. Regret
is of the past. One day
you may get what they get.
Pain and pleasure, of course,
are of the present, like joy.
Sorrow tries to destroy
everything that is, was
and will be. A night sky
speaks to an empty street.
Say hallo, then goodbye,
hoping that you will meet
again after another night.
You are getting ahead
of yourself. Out of sight,
you live in your own head
as if it was a room
or an entire block
of flats. Haunted by gloom,
you dwell on top of a clock
tower of ivory or
whatever you think it is
you can see in the freeze
frame of your mind. A door-
way leads both ways: outside
and inside. There’s another
doorway where you can hide,
getting farther and farther
away. Under the bruised
sky in the afterglow,
a multitude of unused
rain clouds crawl in slow
motion to turn on the black
coffee machine of the night
and then maybe come back
in coffee-black or milk-white…
…which sounds and smells like looks can be deceptive to taste. They differ in different books. Many words go to waste. The present becomes the past whereas the future is clear only to GOD. Your last chance to defeat your fear may be right now. Or maybe some other time. Regret is of the past. One day you may get what they get. Pain and pleasure, of course, are of the present, like joy. Sorrow tries to destroy everything that is, was and will be. A night sky speaks to an empty street. Say hallo, then goodbye, hoping that you will meet again after another night. You are getting ahead of yourself. Out of sight, you live in your own head as if it was a room or an entire block of flats. Haunted by gloom, you dwell on top of a clock tower of ivory or whatever you think it is you can see in the freeze frame of your mind. A doorway leads both ways: outside and inside. There’s another doorway where you can hide, getting farther and farther away. Under the bruised sky in the afterglow, a multitude of unused rain clouds crawl in slow motion to turn on the black coffee machine of the night and then maybe come back in coffee-black or milk-white…
June 2006
(DIMENSIONS OF DOUBT)
…other dimensions of doubt
only GOD can figure out.
Various memories
may seem ready to freeze
in the form of plain prose.
Or in verse. Getting close
to repeating each day
like a film on replay,
time can feel like a place
on your mind when you face…
…other dimensions of doubt only GOD can figure out. Various memories may seem ready to freeze in the form of plain prose. Or in verse. Getting close to repeating each day like a film on replay, time can feel like a place on your mind when you face…
August 2006
(ДАЖЕ ВО СНЕ)
…никто, кроме БОГА, не
вечен даже во сне.
Снова начавшись сначала,
день прошел мимо причала
и превратился в вечер,
который так же не вечен,
как и все, что есть вокруг.
Включая тебя, мой друг…
…никто, кроме БОГА, не вечен даже во сне. Снова начавшись сначала, день прошел мимо причала и превратился в вечер, который так же не вечен, как и все, что есть вокруг. Включая тебя, мой друг…
Октябрь 2006
(IN A WINDOW FRAME)
…picture in a window frame
painted by the Fall.
Everything stays the same
until it doesn’t. All
you see can always change.
Looks like it is GOD’s Law,
and Its nature is flaw-
less. There is another strange…
…picture in a window frame painted by the Fall. Everything stays the same until it doesn’t. All you see can always change. Looks like it is GOD’s Law, and Its nature is flawless. There is another strange…
October 2006
(TO EACH UNTRAINED EYE)
…to each untrained eye
that looks up at the sky.
A lot of time has passed
from the future into the past
through the present. This time
is beginning to rhyme
with that time, telling the truth
about somebody’s lost youth.
Time is the Answering Machine
of GOD WHO remains unseen…
…to each untrained eye that looks up at the sky. A lot of time has passed from the future into the past through the present. This time is beginning to rhyme with that time, telling the truth about somebody’s lost youth. Time is the Answering Machine of GOD WHO remains unseen…
November 2006
(STUCK IN THE PAST)
…in the afterglow,
the wind starts to blow
at a bare tree
on which plastic bags
grow quite free
of charge like legs
on all the floors
of a building. I
see lots of doors
and windows. The sky-
line shrinks this space
with driving rain
clouds on the face
of the moon. Train
windows go dark.
Thick crowns of trees
conceal a park.
Streets start to freeze.
Some call it a day,
though it is night.
Some seek to stay
out of sight
of their own eyes.
Stuck in the past,
they recognize
a time that has passed.
Only GOD can return
it now. Taking a turn…
…in the afterglow, the wind starts to blow at a bare tree on which plastic bags grow quite free of charge like legs on all the floors of a building. I see lots of doors and windows. The skyline shrinks this space with driving rain clouds on the face of the moon. Train windows go dark. Thick crowns of trees conceal a park. Streets start to freeze. Some call it a day, though it is night. Some seek to stay out of sight of their own eyes. Stuck in the past, they recognize a time that has passed. Only GOD can return it now. Taking a turn…
January 2007
(ВОПРОС THAT REALLY MATTERS)
…of this World. Only GOD
has all the answers to
all the questions you could
задать за месяц, год
и даже Вечность, ту
Вечность, что ЕГО Суд
may one day promise you
в Аду или в Раю.
Видимо, человек
не может дать ответ
ни на один вопрос
that really matters. Check
it for yourself. You get
nothing. You’re not the Boss…
…of this World. Only GOD has all the answers to all the questions you could задать за месяц, год и даже Вечность, ту Вечность, что ЕГО Суд may one day promise you в Аду или в Раю. Видимо, человек не может дать ответ ни на один вопрос that really matters. Check it for yourself. You get nothing. You’re not the Boss…
February/Февраль 2007
(SEA OF SNOW)
…seeing a sea of snow.
It looks like a prophesy
of some kind. You slow
down your eyes to see
it become as clear as
a sea that’s totally calm.
It can be in a glass
of ice freezing the palm
of your hand on a beach
that looks like a backyard.
It seems out of reach,
but it’s still not that hard
to touch the face of the earth
hidden behind a mask
of snow. It’s giving birth
to what you fear to ask
about. What does it mean
to fear hearing a voice
that can never be seen?
It leaves you little choice
but to cross the skyline
that separates the past
from the future – a sign
of a present you’ve passed.
Hear the sound of a fright
train of thoughts in your head
crossing your line of sight.
As this train goes mad,
it gets loaded with fear,
and that fear overwhelms
you. It is getting near
all the possible realms
you don’t want to go to,
trying to tell which one
is which out of too
many. In the long run,
they encompass the same
end of an empty street
that has a scary name.
It’s too hard to repeat
it, watching another night
freeze in the window frame.
You can hear that fright
train type your first name
on the railroad track,
making it easy to spell
it out all the way back
to the first farewell.
GOD is certainly GOOD
and undeniably GREAT,
but somehow you still brood
over your own fate…
…seeing a sea of snow. It looks like a prophesy of some kind. You slow down your eyes to see it become as clear as a sea that’s totally calm. It can be in a glass of ice freezing the palm of your hand on a beach that looks like a backyard. It seems out of reach, but it’s still not that hard to touch the face of the earth hidden behind a mask of snow. It’s giving birth to what you fear to ask about. What does it mean to fear hearing a voice that can never be seen? It leaves you little choice but to cross the skyline that separates the past from the future – a sign of a present you’ve passed. Hear the sound of a fright train of thoughts in your head crossing your line of sight. As this train goes mad, it gets loaded with fear, and that fear overwhelms you. It is getting near all the possible realms you don’t want to go to, trying to tell which one is which out of too many. In the long run, they encompass the same end of an empty street that has a scary name. It’s too hard to repeat it, watching another night freeze in the window frame. You can hear that fright train type your first name on the railroad track, making it easy to spell it out all the way back to the first farewell. GOD is certainly GOOD and undeniably GREAT, but somehow you still brood over your own fate…
February 2007
(СНОВА AND AGAIN)
…включая множество мест
в городе на краю
воспоминаний. Пол-
day stretches from east to west
along an avenue
like an enormous wall.
Он склеен из двух частей
речи уже два года
after you didn’t stay
on the disputed border
этих дней и ночей
среди знакомых слов.
Trying to break that chain
of events you think of,
взгляни на солнце в Руке
ГОСПОДА, каждый год
меняющего Мир снова
and again till it’s okay,
or till the Hand of GOD
makes the World start over…
…включая множество мест в городе на краю воспоминаний. Пол-day stretches from east to west along an avenue like an enormous wall. Он склеен из двух частей речи уже два года after you didn’t stay on the disputed border этих дней и ночей среди знакомых слов. Trying to break that chain of events you think of, взгляни на солнце в Руке ГОСПОДА, каждый год меняющего Мир снова and again till it’s okay, or till the Hand of GOD makes the World start over…
Март/March 2007
(WITH TOO MANY MEMORIES)
…about. As long as there is
at least one letter or sound,
the World keeps turning around
but sometimes seems to freeze.
Thus It follows the Will
of GOD no one can defy
even under a still,
let alone changing sky.
In the silence of the setting sun
and the sound of the rising wind,
it looks like the day has begun
to end and the night to win
its time in the window frame.
Your mind seems to be set
to take part in a game
of window chess on a flat
screen. Mirrored by every pane,
trail the railroad track
to the memory lane
that’s bound to take you back.
The moon is full like a glass
of milk, or empty like
any lonely man’s life
that is starting to pass.
There seems to be no
one here or out there,
standing in the falling snow
that keeps dyeing the air
white. Fading into empty space,
the river is covered with mist.
It erases the face
of somebody you missed
by a minute when you
were crossing that avenue
in the middle of Minsk.
Your heart keeps breaking like
the dawn of the day before
you met someone whose life
meant to you even more
than your own, let alone
all the places and times
you have seen on your phone,
taking pictures of crimes
and crime scenes full of nights
killing days and then days
killing nights with the lights
of too many replays.
Some then turn into dust
drawings on melted sand
for one more present passed
to the past by the hand
of the clock that can’t tell
the time from its own face,
or from a farewell
when more time floods this place
like a few years ago.
You barely recall when it
happened but think you’d know
if you returned to that street
and rented a room for two
nights and another day
to stay together with too
many memories. Stay
as long as at least one word
at the crossroads of night
and day seems to be heard
and said to be right to write…
…about. As long as there is at least one letter or sound, the World keeps turning around but sometimes seems to freeze. Thus It follows the Will of GOD no one can defy even under a still, let alone changing sky. In the silence of the setting sun and the sound of the rising wind, it looks like the day has begun to end and the night to win its time in the window frame. Your mind seems to be set to take part in a game of window chess on a flat screen. Mirrored by every pane, trail the railroad track to the memory lane that’s bound to take you back. The moon is full like a glass of milk, or empty like any lonely man’s life that is starting to pass. There seems to be no one here or out there, standing in the falling snow that keeps dyeing the air white. Fading into empty space, the river is covered with mist. It erases the face of somebody you missed by a minute when you were crossing that avenue in the middle of Minsk. Your heart keeps breaking like the dawn of the day before you met someone whose life meant to you even more than your own, let alone all the places and times you have seen on your phone, taking pictures of crimes and crime scenes full of nights killing days and then days killing nights with the lights of too many replays. Some then turn into dust drawings on melted sand for one more present passed to the past by the hand of the clock that can’t tell the time from its own face, or from a farewell when more time floods this place like a few years ago. You barely recall when it happened but think you’d know if you returned to that street and rented a room for two nights and another day to stay together with too many memories. Stay as long as at least one word at the crossroads of night and day seems to be heard and said to be right to write…
March 2007
(GOD’S WILL)
…that seems made of gold.
The moon, I’m told,
may also be made
of things that don’t fade,
like some precious stone.
Whip out your phone,
for it could be soft
goat cheese with salt,
though it looks hard
as rocks or your heart
on a railroad track.
Being played back,
it’s seen and heard
in every word
and every wheel
of driving steel
rain. The rain
draws the City of
Minsk I’m in love
with like I was in
love with you. Win
or lose this time,
thoughts seem to rhyme
like streets with your feet.
The city cake
looks like a glazed lake
the night likes to eat.
The sky’s sown with stars.
The central park
is circled by cars.
The sky grows dark
clouds like cotton in
fields. The wind
obeys GOD’s Will.
So does everyone,
including the sun…
…that seems made of gold. The moon, I’m told, may also be made of things that don’t fade, like some precious stone. Whip out your phone, for it could be soft goat cheese with salt, though it looks hard as rocks or your heart on a railroad track. Being played back, it’s seen and heard in every word and every wheel of driving steel rain. The rain draws the City of Minsk I’m in love with like I was in love with you. Win or lose this time, thoughts seem to rhyme like streets with your feet. The city cake looks like a glazed lake the night likes to eat. The sky’s sown with stars. The central park is circled by cars. The sky grows dark clouds like cotton in fields. The wind obeys GOD’s Will. So does everyone, including the sun…
April 2007
(BEHIND THE BLINDS)
…behind a parking lot
of words meaning new things.
There is a shadow thought
starting to spread its wings
in your head. It reminds
you of a memory
you once thought you were free
from, hiding behind the blinds
that separate your past
from your present. The room
is being filled with gloom
you are trying your best
to find a way out of.
But only GOD can help
you get out of the hell
in your head – with Hope, Love,
and Faith. You walk up to
the window and watch the night
swallow the street that’s too
long not to slip out of sight…
…behind a parking lot of words meaning new things. There is a shadow thought starting to spread its wings in your head. It reminds you of a memory you once thought you were free from, hiding behind the blinds that separate your past from your present. The room is being filled with gloom you are trying your best to find a way out of. But only GOD can help you get out of the hell in your head – with Hope, Love, and Faith. You walk up to the window and watch the night swallow the street that’s too long not to slip out of sight…
May 2007
(КАЖДОГО СЛОВА)
…символов, знаков, примет
и знамений прошедших лет.
В букве каждого слога
каждого Слова БОГА
неимоверно много
смысла. Но этот смысл
часто скрыт среди чисел…
…символов, знаков, примет и знамений прошедших лет. В букве каждого слога каждого Слова БОГА неимоверно много смысла. Но этот смысл часто скрыт среди чисел…
Июнь 2007
(NUMBER OF WORDS)
…obeying the Will of GOD.
GOD is THE ONE WHO made
the World before the Flood,
and HE can make It fade.
Since time out of mind,
minds have run out of time.
You see a road unwind
like a line to a rhyme
with a number of words
you’ve been trying to get
out of your head. It works
just like an old TV set
showing a sparkly neck-
lace of a city night:
everything is ink-black
or writing-paper-white.
The World began with One
Word, and It likely will
end with One when the Sun
is switched off and goes still…
…obeying the Will of GOD. GOD is THE ONE WHO made the World before the Flood, and HE can make It fade. Since time out of mind, minds have run out of time. You see a road unwind like a line to a rhyme with a number of words you’ve been trying to get out of your head. It works just like an old TV set showing a sparkly necklace of a city night: everything is ink-black or writing-paper-white. The World began with One Word, and It likely will end with One when the Sun is switched off and goes still…
June 2007
(SOMEWHERE OUT OF SIGHT)
…to try to start anew
and maybe make some sense
out of what you knew
when you had your first chance
to see the shooting scars
on the face of the night
sky. You stare at the stars
somewhere out of sight.
The TV set of your mind
is heard inside your head,
making you push the rewind
button on the half-mad
recorder of your memory.
You try to put it on pause
where you once were me,
though I’m not sure I was
there at all. Just play
it back for me one more
time. Begin with the day
before the night before
there was nothing on
your mind except that fear
swallowing you at dawn
somewhere around here.
Only GOD knows when
this World may be gone.
HE is THE ONE WHO can
end It or let It go on.
Pictures on window panes
are painted with rainy days’
watercolors. It rains
in the vanishing rays
of the sun. One more night
changes the window view,
wiping it out of sight.
I’m not sure I’m you
anymore. Heavy rain
seems lighter than heavy wind.
You look at the window pane,
wondering who will win
the fight between night and day
if you can find a way…
…to try to start anew and maybe make some sense out of what you knew when you had your first chance to see the shooting scars on the face of the night sky. You stare at the stars somewhere out of sight. The TV set of your mind is heard inside your head, making you push the rewind button on the half-mad recorder of your memory. You try to put it on pause where you once were me, though I’m not sure I was there at all. Just play it back for me one more time. Begin with the day before the night before there was nothing on your mind except that fear swallowing you at dawn somewhere around here. Only GOD knows when this World may be gone. HE is THE ONE WHO can end It or let It go on. Pictures on window panes are painted with rainy days’ watercolors. It rains in the vanishing rays of the sun. One more night changes the window view, wiping it out of sight. I’m not sure I’m you anymore. Heavy rain seems lighter than heavy wind. You look at the window pane, wondering who will win the fight between night and day if you can find a way…
July 2007
(ALMOST THE SAME)
…Home to GOD. As the dust
settles, some tear gas
gets in your eyes. The past
is in a looking glass
of water squeezed from a rain-
coat on a washing line.
The sky seems to remain
almost the same, looking like
an upside-down sea
or an enormous wall
on which you often see
the sun set. Shadows fall,
followed by one more night
wearing mourning-black
until the morning light.
Everything must come back…
…Home to GOD. As the dust settles, some tear gas gets in your eyes. The past is in a looking glass of water squeezed from a raincoat on a washing line. The sky seems to remain almost the same, looking like an upside-down sea or an enormous wall on which you often see the sun set. Shadows fall, followed by one more night wearing mourning-black until the morning light. Everything must come back…
August 2007
(WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY)
…to any looking glass
with a couple of eyes
scanning a tear gas
chamber. There someone cries
about a place in time
only GOD can return
one to in their prime
if they can truly earn
it. You hide in a rain-
coat on a cold, black night,
catching another train
of thoughts you want to write
down on a paper sheet.
It can feel like a leaf
from a tree on a street
you can barely leave
by just walking away
from what you want to say…
…to any looking glass with a couple of eyes scanning a tear gas chamber. There someone cries about a place in time only GOD can return one to in their prime if they can truly earn it. You hide in a raincoat on a cold, black night, catching another train of thoughts you want to write down on a paper sheet. It can feel like a leaf from a tree on a street you can barely leave by just walking away from what you want to say…
September 2007
(THROUGH THE MORNING MIST)
…what looks like another lot
of waves licking the coast-
line when a weird thought
goes through your mind like a ghost