MARINA
TSVETAEVA
203
Robert , who last year not only came to my Russian poetry reading ,
but was the first to come-
"Un moment j'ai cru entendre une marche . Etait-ce peut-etre
une poesie sur la guerre? On croyait entendre marcher les troupes,
sonner les trompettes , galoper les chevaux ... C'est que je suis
musicienne, moi . . . C'etait beau, beau!"
MIle Jeanne Robert, confusing a lesson date for the first time:
one on Wednesday (the 5th) , the other on the 6th (Thursday) .
MIle Jeanne Robert who didn't wait for her new gloves after
all-
Rainer Maria Rilke, are you pleased with-Jeanne Robert?
• • •
And, addressing to you the words you once directed to
another-
denn Dir liegt nichts an den Fragenden
sanften Gesichtes
siehst Du den Fragenden zu.
• * •
P.S. 1 happened to find out that the last book read by you was
called
L'Ame et fa Danse.
That is , all the last Jeanne Robert.
• * •
VANYA
The Russian boy Vanya died. 1 first heard of him from his
sister at the ocean this summer. 1 was sitting on the sand, playing
with my year-and-a-half-old son. "I have a brother," my acquain–
tance suddenly said , "about as developed as your son . Papa, Mama ,
uncles, thank you , please .
"
"How old is he?"
"Thirteen. ' ,
"Mentally retarded?"
"Yes, and a very good boy , very kind. His name is Vanya."
"That's a good name, the most Russian , and the rarest, no one
names children that nowadays," 1 said, limiting my judgement to
the name .
The next 1 heard about Vanya was from a close friend who had
just that evening dropped in with Vanya's sister to see Vanya's
mother .
