„Kotlova!“
Mama turns around at the shout.
„I’m not done with you! What kind of verses have you published in the newspaper?“
„Verses by our students, members of the literary association,“ Mama answers timidly.
„Have you even read them?“
„I have, and so has the editor. Is something wrong?“ Mama sits down without objection on the last chair, the closest to the door.
„I’ll say!“ snorts Aleksey Ivanovich, and begins to read:
Disarmament. Not waiting
For a bomb in an envelope, or a mine concealed within its lines,
Not summoning or invoking those things
That are hidden in a flask of gin.
Not being blown to pieces
By the sound of a falling line,
And not taking the dots you have written down
To arrange them in rows.
He throws the newspaper onto the table and yells:
„What do you think this is?!“
Mama trembles from the sharp cry, and without understanding the question being asked, she answers cautiously.
„Verses. About love.“
„You’re so shortsighted! And you’re a member of the Communist party!“
„I don’t understand…“ Mama says timidly.
„There are Soviet-American disarmament negotiations going on right now in Moscow. If Johnson reads this opus, he might think the Soviet Union is against concluding this agreement. Listen to what this scoundrel is writing!“
Aleksey Ivanovich reads, deliberately distorting his voice, and he speaks in his infamous falsetto that grates on the ear:
Disarmament. Carts
Carry the bombs away to the casemates.
And I go limp and cry
„Save my soul!“ at the top of my voice.
He becomes silent. Mama begins to understand his train of thought and quietly curses: „Damn! I’m a total idiot! How could I have overlooked this?“
„How would you interpret this?!“ screams the party committee leader, and without waiting for an answer, he continues howling. „Are we against disarmament?! Are we against taking the bombs away to the arsenals?!“
I am frightened by the sharp cry, and I instinctively draw in my knees and pull my head down to my shoulders. Mama almost cries, and with a voice shaking with agitation, she tries to explain.
„Aleksey Ivanovich, this is a lyrical image. I agree, it’s not entirely successful…“
The party committee leader interrupts her.
„Completely unsuccessful. If someone in the City Party Committee sees these verses, they won’t be patting me on the back. As for your political shortsightedness, you’ll have to hand over your party membership card.“