Invitation Poem by viacheslav kupriyanov

You are hereby invited
to the unveiling of a monument
to the Unknown
Coward.

The monument's design is unpretentious: a bare
plinth. The Coward himself
can hide with confidence
amongst the guests
without fear
of being discovered.

You will hear many unknown things:
as it is unknown
what the Coward had to fear,
only the unknown
will be spoken of.

The speeches will stress that,
thanks to the cowardice of one who was unknown,
the known
could live free from fear.

You are hereby invited to the unveiling
of a monument
to the Unknown
Coward.

Attend
or else!

Translated from Russian by Francis R.Jones