Thank You, Moscow
Although the poem ‘Thank You, Moscow’ was written in 2015, it appears to be a eulogy to my years in Russia, which I left in 2021. The title conveniently packages the compositions into a theme, if not all, about Russia, then sentiments shaped by my time in Russia.
Thank you, Moscow and all the remarkable characters I have met here that have changed me for better or worse from the unwitting 25-year-old who arrived at Sheremetyevo back in March 1992.
Of all the extraordinary characters I have met in half a lifetime here, none were more distinguished and influential than my best friend, John Roche (1949-2015)—a man with an almost clinical obsessiveness for fairness to everyone. Unkindness or egoism were the few things that made him irate. Amongst papers he had left me to look after for him, I found a note scribbled:
‘Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see.’ Confucius
I dedicate this collection to John, who found a great deal of beauty in Moscow, particularly in its people.
A Little Bit Broken
I have had the great fortune to have grown up in a loving and stable family environment and, through life, enjoyed strong encouragement from friends and companions. Nevertheless, I have always had the need to rationalise well beyond reason; as a result, introversion and anxiety can rarely be put aside.
Several of the poems, essentially the upbeat, reflect my exceptional times with Kivi, who formally became part of the Blanchard family shortly before this collection was put together. I dedicate this collection of poems to my family, in particular to our mother, Carol whom we lost in October 2014. Without Mum, we are all a little bit broken, but we have memories of glorious times filled with her love, wisdom and humour.