A. Molotkov
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and if you tell me
that your broken doll
is crying
in pain
in disbelief at the cruelty
of life –
if you tell me this
who am i to doubt you?
I’ll be a doll doctor
for the rest of my days
A. Molotkov is a writer, composer, filmmaker, visual artist, and co-founder of the Inflectionist poetry movement (Inflectionism.com). Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, he moved to the U.S. in 1990 and switched to writing in English in 1993. He is the author of several novels, short story and poetry collections, and the winner of the 2010 New Millennium Writings and the 2008 E. M. Koeppel Awards for fiction. He was nominated for a Pushcart. Molotkov’s fiction and poetry have appeared in over 25 print and online publications. In 2010, he spearheaded the poetry and music performance “Love Outlives Us”. He often reads at a variety of Portland venues. Visit him at www.AMolotkov.com. He moonlights as a Toe Good runner.
Doctor-Patient Confidentiality fits the A. Molotkov mold. It is full-on brevity. The sparseness opens his poetry to a dialogue between itself and the reader. After several readings of his collection, I singled out this poem and asked, “What if it were called Doctor-Patient Confidentiality?” and Molotkov ran with it. When he is at his best, he has the accessibility of Charles Bukowski and the tranquility of Emily Dickinson.
Next Issue features a poem by one of the Original Toe Goods.