Two pictures in between two dates.
The date of birth and the demise
One—smiling young Professor in
An auditorium teaching Russian letters,
In a cotton shirt, hand-made light waistcoat,
Free, freed and outspoken
Lies on the desk with papers scattered.
The other--man with thin tight lips
Sits in an armchair.
The Nobel Prize holder,
As well as a handful of Awards.
Hands crossed, means closed,
Blocked to tete-a-tetes,
Heart pains, night coughs, and bad digestion.
A checked woolen jacket and a woolen costly tie
With hardly a visible white spot on it,
Most likely, of the breakfast yoghurt.
Looks like it happened a time before
The picture was shot…