Turgenev

Ivan Turgenev
fathers and sons
the Russia of position and pride
a bumpy distant carriage ride
from school to home to widow
love, despair and death
that last sharp Cossack breath
hot across the peasant's brow
turning the page of history now
a mother or father in great gladness
succumbing to heavy-hearted sadness.
your Honor,
i'm sorry to say,
Nicolai Petrovich is leaving today.