{"product_id":"if-there-is-something-to-desire-isbn-9780375711893","title":"If There is Something to Desire","description":"Now in paperback, the widely acclaimed collection of one hundred poems of extraordinarily elegant simplicity by one of the best-selling poets in Russia, whose presence on the American poetry scene is increasingly strong.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Pavlova writes about love (both sexual love and the love that reaches beyond sex); about motherhood; about the memories of childhood that continue to feed us; about our lives as passionate souls abroad in the world. Sensitively translated by her husband, Steven Seymour, Pavlova's poems are highly disciplined miniatures (\"I broke your heart. \/ Now barefoot I tread \/ on shards\"--a whole poem in ten words). Pavlova is a poet who storms our hearts with pure talent and a seemingly effortless gift for shaping poems.VERA PAVLOVA is the author of fifteen collections of poetry, and the librettos to five operas and four cantatas. Her poems have been translated into twenty-one languages, and she has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Apollon Grigoriev Grand Prize (2001). Her poetry has appeared in several U.S. publications, including \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eTin House. If There Is Something to Desire \u003c\/i\u003eis Pavlova's first collection in English.7 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf there is something to desire, \u003cbr\u003ethere will be something to regret. \u003cbr\u003eIf there is something to regret, \u003cbr\u003ethere will be something to recall. \u003cbr\u003eIf there is something to recall, \u003cbr\u003ethere was nothing to regret.\u003cbr\u003eIf there was nothing to regret, \u003cbr\u003ethere was nothing to desire.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e9 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI broke your heart. \u003cbr\u003eNow barefoot I tread \u003cbr\u003eon shards.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e11\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLet us touch each other\u003cbr\u003ewhile we still have hands,\u003cbr\u003epalms, forearms, elbows . . .\u003cbr\u003eLet us love each other for misery,\u003cbr\u003elet us torture each other,\u003cbr\u003emangle, maim,\u003cbr\u003eto remember better,\u003cbr\u003eto part with less pain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e16\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhose face and body would I like to have?\u003cbr\u003eThe face and body of Nike.\u003cbr\u003eI would fly past all those Venuses,\u003cbr\u003ewould have nothing to do with Apollos.\u003cbr\u003eWith the wind chilling my shoulder\u003cbr\u003eI would leave behind forever\u003cbr\u003ethe hall of plaster copies!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e71\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSelf-Portrait in Profile\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI\u003cbr\u003eam\u003cbr\u003ethe one\u003cbr\u003ewho wakes up\u003cbr\u003eon your\u003cbr\u003eleft.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e76\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAm I lovely? Of course!\u003cbr\u003eBreathlessly I taste\u003cbr\u003ethe subtle compliment\u003cbr\u003eof a handmade caress.\u003cbr\u003eChop me into tiny bits,\u003cbr\u003ecaress and tame my soul,\u003cbr\u003ethat godly swallow\u003cbr\u003eyou love to no end.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e78\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBasked in the sun,\u003cbr\u003elistened to birds,\u003cbr\u003elicked off raindrops,\u003cbr\u003eand only in flight\u003cbr\u003ethe leaf saw the tree\u003cbr\u003eand grasped\u003cbr\u003ewhat it had been.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e91\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003edropped\u003cbr\u003eand falling\u003cbr\u003efrom such\u003cbr\u003eheights\u003cbr\u003efor so\u003cbr\u003elong\u003cbr\u003ethat\u003cbr\u003emaybe\u003cbr\u003eI will have\u003cbr\u003eenough time\u003cbr\u003eto learn\u003cbr\u003eflying","brand":"Knopf","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304519749861,"sku":"NP9780375711893","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780375711893.jpg?v=1767729789","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/if-there-is-something-to-desire-isbn-9780375711893","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}