What we would cross freely
What freely we would not cross

On one hand, gloves; on the other: winter
On the one hand, winter; in the other: gloves

What we cross not freely
What costs nothing to cross

On one hand, stone; on the other: rock
On the one hand, rock; in the other: stone

What costs everything to cross
What crosses freely is cost

On one hand, Staten Island; on the other: The Bronx
On one hand, Brooklyn; on the other: Queens

What we freely would cross
Cross what cost freely
Cross would we freely
Were it not for cost

On one hand, Slovenia; on the other: Hungary
On one hand, Croatia; on the other: Hungary
On one hand, Serbia; on the other: Hungary
On one hand, Romania; on the other: Hungary

We would cross but only freely
What we crossed we cannot cross again
What crossed is crossed not more than once

On one hand, gluten free; in the other: asphalt
On the one hand, glacier; in the other: transit
On one hand, artifice; in the other: sausage

What is cashed once crossed
Cashed out and freely so
We crossed it out as we would
Freely crossed our cash out

On one hand, The Men; in the other: Fathers & Sons
On one hand, suicide; in the other: suicide note
On one hand, making a picture; on the other: taking a picture
On the one hand, fiction; in the other: fact

What crossed would change upon our crossing
What would change back upon our crossing
What we would cross back changed
What we cross again unchanged

On the one hand, Prospect Heights; on the other: Crown Heights
On the one hand, Crown Heights; on the other: Bed-Stuy
On the one hand, Bed-Stuy; on the other: Brownsville
On the one hand, Brownsville; on the other: East New York

Would we cross what changed us freely
We would cross what changed us freely
What would we cross were we free
We would cross what is crossed freely

On one hand, Ukraine; on the other: Hungary
On one hand, Slovakia; on the other: Hungary
On one hand, Austria; on the other: Germany
On one hand, fingers; in the other: hands

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* this text is based on a re-combinatory improvisation with two lists,
performed at ApexArt on 17 November 2015 for the Double Take Series (#14). The series asks award winning and emerging poets, novelists, editors and artists to trade takes on shared experiences. Lynn Crawford and Matvei Yankelevich considered the word border. Read Lynn Crawford's "Paula and the Angels: for Claire Ashley at Young World (Detroit)".