***[Someone with fake nails] Poem by Veronika Kivisilla

Someone with fake nails
next to me on the bus
is studying from a notebook with orderly handwriting
how to mix cocktails
from the corner of my eye, I see how her lips
move in a whisper
she's trying to memorize
the way to prepare
a Margarita, a Mojito, and a Bloody Mary
trying to learn what Cointreau and Pernod are
next is a longer part about Famous Grouse whiskey
the sentence: 'the grouse is the Scottish national bird' is underlined
that someone next to me
is deep in concentration and has no idea
that I am writing about her at the same time
I wonder what test she is studying for
at what school
whether the school's motto might be
ask of us a contemporary person
contemporary education
pure superficiality
which dissipates and dissolves
like an ice cube
in a cocktail glass

Translated from Estonian by Adam Cullen