Talking To Myself. Poem by Konstantin Ananin

1. Have you ever talked to yourself? I’m sure your answer will be ‘yes’. We talk to ourselves when we try to find the best decision or when we can’t fall asleep for a long time and so on. Once I went fishing. While I was walking to the lake, the mist turned into such a heavy fog that I was unable to see my toes. I kept walking, very slowly, and reached the lake. But how? I stumbled over a big stone, fell into water and got wet through. I could only wait when the fog would lift as the fishing was impossible because of very many water-lilies that were completely unseen. So I was sitting and talking to myself.
2. Perhaps you don’t know the water bird bittern that makes the sound called ‘bump’.
3. At first I wanted ‘What’ to be the beginning of every line, but didn’t succeed. So I confined myself to ‘Wh’ instead ‘What’. In my opinion it makes this work pleasant to the eye and, I hope, to the ear too.

What’s around? A fog.
What have I run into? A rock.
What’s on my forehead? A bump.
What can I hear? A bump.
What place is this bird in? The cane.
What about hunting it? Vain.
Why are you cursing? A thorn.
What’s wrong with my coat? Torn.
What can I do with it? Mend.
What’s the best way? End.
What should I end? Chat.
What else can I do? Bet.
Who can I bet with? The fog.
What’s in it? The rock.
What else will you add? Your bump.
What will be the next? Some chump.
What’s then? Another bump.
Why can’t I shun it? Chump!
What should I do then? Sit still.
What if I don’t? Get ill.
Why can it happen? Fall.
What can make me? At all?
Who are you asking? Mad?
Why is this insult? Drat!
When will you answer? Ants!
What place are they in? Pants!
Whose pants are they? Yours!
Why are they in? It was.
What ‘It was’? The ant-hill.
Why did they leave it? To kill.
Who do they wanna kill? Guess.
What way as I’m big? Success!
Why is this tone? Sit still.
What should I do it for? Feel!
What is biting me? Ants! ! !
Why are you roaring? Pants!
What about them? Full!
What are they full of? Fool!
Why do you repeat? Take off!
Where shall I fly? Out of!
What room’s here? I’m off.
When will you come back? Doff! ! !
What exactly? Pants!
Why are you nervous? Ants!
What are they up to? Said!
What have they said! Dead!
Who’s gonna be dead? You!
Why are you sure? Few.
What can few ants do? A lot.
What if there’s one ant? My God!
Why should I believe? Wait.
What if I can’t stand it? Great!
Why are you happy? At last!
What d’you mean? Take them off fast!