Moscow 1936.

They came and took

a dozen neighbours,

and the old preacher

who used to sit on the landing

with his suitcase

and coat at night

because he said

they come for you at night

not day, but nonetheless

they took him away,

and the old battle-axe

on the ground floor

who claimed she knew Lenin

in 1922,

they took her away too,

the NKVD...

When will they

come for me?