EASTERN FACES

Passion and fashions, fancies and dreams.

Laughing for no reason.

And sometimes the laugh is on you.

Somehow Easterners look out of place in America.

Sometimes their skin is too thin.

Sometimes they drink too much.

      THE RUSSIAN PRINCE

The US of America looked out of place around Sasha.

He was born on Sakhalin peninsula.

There was a quiet about him, a sense of eternity.

His melancholies were as gigantic as his laughter.

He had those dreaming eyes that look beyond the horizon, and deep inside everything.

"I am glad I had the courage to take that step," he said. "I dance everywhere, around the
    country, around the world. It's great, I feel wonderful."

He seemed invincible, invulnerable, he was uncontrollable, and knew he would never see
    his home again.

When I think of Sasha I think of great strength. He was the man who made the difference,
    every time.

      THE WORLD TO DANCE IN

Dancing lion. Lion dancer.

Whirling round and round the world,

in the blast of trumpets and fanfares,

big and brash and powerful,

abandoned blond mane flying.

Charismatic, spectacular, flamboyant.

Whimsical, guileless, ironic.

Moody, brooding, haunted.

Lunatic, perfectionist, obsessive.

Lonely?

Afraid?

He drank too much.

A flame burning high and bright, briefly.

Left are ashes in the sea.

The Pacific ocean separates

California and Sakhalin.

      Alexander Godunov 1949-1995