Two Russian Women

The first one,
I know from the painting--
"Young Girl with Peaches".
The painter is Valentin Serov,
The year is 1887,
The girl name is Vera,
(Which means "faith").
In a modest sunroom
Of a Russian country house,
The girl is sitting at a table
With four peaches in front of her;
Light of quiet hope
Permeates the room.

The second woman
Makes a brief appearance
Fifty years later
In Akhmatova's "Requiem".
After Kirov's murder,
Thousands upon thousands
Were placed under arrest.
Long lines of silent women
Queued at Leningrad's prisons' gates
Trying to find out
The fate of their menfolk.
Standing in line,
Akhmatova saw an old woman howling.
Perhaps her name was Vera.