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Sweet Darusya
it turned out that way for the
resourceful profiteers. Or
maybe, because of the fact
that there was more to take
across to the Romanian side
from Poland than vice versa.
True, the Poles from time
to time inflicted beatings
on violators of the border
peace during broad daylight,
especiallywhenthesmugglers
were from the Romanian
side. They would send a poor
guy caught in the middle of
the river to their post. They’d
beat him in the courtyard
with beech sticks in their four
hands. They’d take his goods.
They’d detain him among the
soldiers, force him to mow
grass or toss down some
hay, –and then they’d send
the beaten man home. And
here the Romanian beech
sticks play on him if not “The
Hutsul Girl,” then an “arkan”
on his backside, all along his
backside already black and
blue from the Polish sticks.
After this for a certain – very
short time, the profiteering
from both shores quiets
down.
And again the border guards
line up on both sides of the
water nearly at the distance
of an extended arm, they only
don’t talk to one another. But
another day or two passes
– and then from the other
to this side a stone with
aromatic Galician tobacco
tied to it will whistle from
a Polish guard on duty, and
from this side – the
granicieri
will share dried plums in a
bag, fastened to the top of a
long and pliant fishing line or
pole. And the boys in nearly
exactly the same uniforms,
if you look from this shore,
will go in further along the
river as though nothing
happened, not reporting