Recall

I'm working with a young Russian poet, Vera Pavlova on a new collection for next Spring. She is incredible, and something of a superstar in her native country. We have decided to print an entire poem on the front-of-jacket, and chances are it is going to be this one. This poem has become something of a koan for me over the past week. There is something very enigmatic and Heart Sutra-like at the poem's core. (I need to remember to ask if "recall" has the same dual-meaning in Russian as in English.)


If there is something to desire,
there will be something to regret.
If there is something to regret,
there will be something to recall.
If there is something to recall,
there was nothing to regret.
If there was nothing to regret,
there was nothing to desire.

—Vera Pavlova

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