Tatiana

No one liked Tatiana.

She was Russian,

Which automatically made her superior

To all of the other American

Or even Canadian skating coaches at the rink.

We regarded her with a sort of wary, resentful respect,

But deep respect nonetheless.

Along with her Russian superiority,

There was the simple fact that she was

Angry, intense, and loud.

She would yell at any skater,

Her student or not, for any reason

And sent many rushing to the bathroom in tears.

But even as her voice rose

And her accent grew thicker,

Each accusation and demand and scolding

Was always followed with a “love”-

Get out of the way, love!

That’s a Flutz, love!

You’re underrotating, love!

-Like the period at the end of a sentence.

I wonder if it was just out of habit

Or if she actually cared.

I like to believe it was the latter.