Problems of Translation*
Skoba is a feminine Russian noun
meaning crampon
In English.Okay.
So what the hell does crampon mean?I know what tampon means –
which rhymes with crampon.
That’s what my girlfriend is always running
out of
At one o’clock in the morning.I also know what cramp means,
which, again,
Reminds me of my girlfriend.
That’s what she gets when the tampon
Isn’t on right.
Or in right.
And what I get, when
I haven’t been in
In a long time.And I think I know what “on” means
too,
At least in such expressions as
pissed on
turned on
or onamatopoeia.And that reminds me of my girlfriend
too, since . . .
Oh, well. We won’t go into that.
But crampon.Hmmm.
Maybe I need a new Russian dictionary?
*Published in Hyn Anthology, 1972.