Poems by Yana Soulstamina included in the anthology "The Heat is On: Young Writers on the Climate Crisis"
31.01.2022
Ulyanovsk poet Yana Soulstamina takes part in the project of Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature in New Zealand, the international anthology of texts "The Heat is On: Young Writers on the Climate Crisis".
Yana Soulstamina is a visual artist, graphic designer and book lover who writes poetry. Currently based in Ulyanovsk, Russia. So far, her poetry has been published once: a selection of poems was included into the digest of contemporary Russian poetry “Beskonechnost”(Infinity).
“I’ve been concerned about climate changing and environmental issues since I was a teenager because I believe that life is precious and each of us and everything around us are elements of the same universal structure. The purity and power of nature are worth saving.”
We invite you to read her work in English.
MELTING
Meltingis the ice in my glass,
melting
are the glaciers
of the mountainous state of Montana.
I refuse to take a plastic bag
at the supermarket.
“But it’s free”, says the cashier.
I want to tell her that it’s not true:
we don’t have to look for the change
in the cash register right now,
instead,
we’re going to pay for it later
with the unchangeable coin,
the glaciers
of the mountainous state of Montana.
I want to tell that to her
but I’m embarrassed to hold up the line.
So I get back home
and write my poetry about it.