How could a great monarch of Russia
cook up such a big pot of kasha,
and find himself lost as of late
inside of my woodsy estate?
I’m Leshy—the lord of the thicket,
the dark, the nightmarish, the wicked.
No mortal provokes me for fear
of being impaled by a deer,
or meeting a sudden demise
bewitched by the green of my eyes.
And yet, this Vladimir, this tsar,
abandoned his hot samovar,
and started destroying my woods,
believing my trees were his goods.
His target—to grow and expand
by chainsaw attacks on my land.
This terrible war he began
without an excuse or a plan;
but I have a plan—now, let’s see—
too late to turn back and to flee;
each tree is obeying my word,
each shadow, each wind gust, each bird.
You find you’re surrounded and change
your mind when you taste my revenge,
but I am not done, not just yet;
I love the despair of your “Nyet!”
when you realize that you stomped
into the quicksand of a swamp
that slowly devours you whole—
your torso, your heart, and your soul.
And then I concede that I won—
the monarch of Russia is gone.
I’m rising, empowered and tall.
It’s finished. Your poyezd ushol.
Bio
Iryna Hall shares: "I was born in Ukraine, and I am deeply familiar with Russian folklore. To help clarify these cultural references, I have included a glossary of the terms used in the poems."
Author's note
Glossary of terms
1. Leshy (Леший)
Meaning: A tutelary forest spirit in Slavic folklore who protects the woods and wildlife. He is known for leading travelers astray or trapping those who disrespect the forest.
Pronunciation: LESH-ee
2. Kasha (Каша)
Idiom/Phrase: "Cook up such a big pot of kasha"
Meaning: Literally, kasha is porridge or cooked grains (a staple food in Russian cuisine). Idiomatically (заварить кашу / zavarit' kashu), "to cook up a pot of kasha" means creating a huge, messy, or complicated problem—a mess of one's own making.
Pronunciation: KAH-shah
3. Tsar (Царь)
Meaning: The traditional title for a Russian emperor or supreme monarch.
Pronunciation: TSAR’
4. Vladimir (Владимир)
Meaning: A traditional Slavic name (used here to refer to the monarch/tsar).
Pronunciation: vlah-DEE-meer (in Russian, the stress is on the second syllable)
5. Samovar (Самовар)
Meaning: A traditional metal urn equipped with an internal heating element, historically used in Russia to boil water for tea.
Pronunciation: sah-mah-VAHR
6. Nyet (Нет)
Meaning: "No".
Pronunciation: NYET
7. Poyezd ushol (Поезд ушёл)
Meaning: Literally translates to "the train has left." It is a common Russian idiom meaning "that ship has sailed," "your time is up," or "it's too late now."
Pronunciation: POY-yezd oo-SHOHL
