Umbrella
A Journal of Poetry and Kindred Prose


Matt Merritt
is an English journalist and poet. His first full collection, Troy Town, was published in March 2008 by Arrowhead Press and his debut chapbook, Making The Most Of The Light, was published in 2005 by Happenstance Press.

His work has also appeared in British and US publication, including Magma, Boxcar Poetry Review, Poetry Nottingham, Envoi and The Slab. He was the winner of the 2004 Plough Poetry Prize.

He lives near Leicester and works as production editor at Bird Watching magazine. His blog is Polyolbion.


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Stanislav Petrov

The hardest part? How to stay alive
(inside the bunker, remember,
there are no days or nights)
to a sight you’ll see only once,

the screens suddenly flowering
with tendrils of light, taking hold
of the world as we always imagined
they would. For some, perhaps,

the danger is a mind that wanders,
to football, or vodka, or the legs
of Comrade Ivanovna.
For me, only a waking dream

of days awaiting autumn in Fryazino,
and my wife asking, what did you do today
Yevgrafovich? Answering her
as I always do. Nothing. I did nothing.



 
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