Arriving, I found a queue in the gardens, and so ob-
viously joined it. A pasty, spotty, crop-haired youth
With a rifle (the special essence and limit of whose job
Was to block admittance to the Vilnius consulate uncouth-
ly) gestured with a thumb towards an office. Here,
I waited, before being called to fill
In some Cyrillic forms, passing on to a counter (mere-
ly to obtain a stamp) and then proceeding to the cashier's till
Where I would pay (outrageously) for the visa. But first, what
I needed was a photo; so upstairs, past unravell-
ing electrics, to a babushka with a Polaroid who put the fin-
ishing touches to this epic of the Byelorussian state. Not
That I was asking much: just to travel
Through a country I was already technically in.
viously joined it. A pasty, spotty, crop-haired youth
With a rifle (the special essence and limit of whose job
Was to block admittance to the Vilnius consulate uncouth-
ly) gestured with a thumb towards an office. Here,
I waited, before being called to fill
In some Cyrillic forms, passing on to a counter (mere-
ly to obtain a stamp) and then proceeding to the cashier's till
Where I would pay (outrageously) for the visa. But first, what
I needed was a photo; so upstairs, past unravell-
ing electrics, to a babushka with a Polaroid who put the fin-
ishing touches to this epic of the Byelorussian state. Not
That I was asking much: just to travel
Through a country I was already technically in.
(16.6.1997)
