For a long time I could not forgive him the horse that was taken
from the knacker's yard and perished right on the set.
Nikolai Burliaev
.
Petition of the Horse
(archives of Passion According to Andrei)
.
.......................................................................
.............................to be late for slaughter
bad luck or fate
steady karmic curse
to be born forever
unsuccessful date
with a shining blade
i am late
the girth
tightens my endeavor
till the very end
i don't understand
whether flesh or soul
suffers cuts and sever
playing endless role
on director's call
i begin to fall
through the stairs roll
like a clown
from the highest wall
down
i receive the fee
of the cold Grand Prix
bullet shot
makes an easy run
to the Eden's sun
happy lot
path is firmly set
(it's a pity that
Stanislavsky's dead
he would kneel and bow)
now
i am tired... no
the breaking bones wouldn't scare me
pain would not grow
yet i dread to ruin my part and plea
(the director wants me to play sincere)
by the hundredth take it will be too much
i'll lose my touch
and the shot will smear
.
i return again to my karmic curse...
let me come to life in the form of stone
let me grab the chance to escape new birth
i'll bless the knaker with final moan
.
can't you tell by eyes looking through the mane
slaughter house for once will be more humane
.
(all rights reserved © Natalia L. Rudychev 2006)
.
posted by Natalia L. Rudychev at 2:59 PM
8 Comments:
"bad luck or fate", I know the question well, and at times have cursed both. "unsuccessful date with a shining blade", excellent poetry. I wonder if you can cure sadness with laughter?
Pat
Thank you. This is a very sad story. During the shooting of Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev a horse was taken from the slaughter house and deliberately killed on the set. It is not an excuse that the horse would have been killed anyway. It is not permissible to inflict suffering on somebody else in the name of art. The artist can make any experiments on him/her self but not on others. This leads to fascist ideology. I see it that when the horse was taken from the slaughter house only to die a much more painful death - something went wrong with its karma. It was cursed to be born again and again only to relive the same nightmare. And from that point of view it was more humane to let destiny run its course. This is a matter of artist's consciousness. Uff
Research is part of poetry reading, and I should have done some. Reading the poem again with your explanation and some reading on Tarkovsky and about the film "Andrei Rublev" it takes on a whole new meaning. Pain should never be inflicted in art, only expressed. Your poem brillantly portrays that. Uff?
haunting write, natalia!
gave me goose bumps, especially after reading your comment.
slaughter in the name of art, that's outrageous!
Rhythmically supple and powerful, Natalia.
Pat
Thank you. I grew up with Tarkovsky's films. So imagine my shock when I found out this fact. It was especially devastating because I am a horse lover. I took 5 years of horse riding classes and know from experience how unique and gentle this works of art of the animal kingdom are.
Polona
Thank you for your sensitivity. This story gives one a whole new perspective on Tarkovsky's art. We have no right to make animals suffer. They are even more fragile then children. They do not have the voice of their own. They cannot even say:"This hurts".
Bill
Thank you. You are very kind to me.
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