[When Pontius Pilate, from the vantage] - Timur Kibirov

When Pontius Pilate, from the vantage
of progressive culture and cutting-edge knowledge,
asked the arrested Jew,
"What is Truth?"—

He didn't expect or even want
to hear an answer.
He knew, of course, that
there are no answers . . .

Lately, those a priori notions,
the loftiness of that philosophy,
have become axioms for all our poor kids,
reprinted all over the Internet,
in newspapers, pamphlets, and on cassettes,
not to mention my half-witted couplets.

Any questions?
No questions.

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Timur Kibirov (Born 1955) Russia
Translated by Jamie Olson