Alguien barre
y canta
y barre
(zuecos en la madrugada).
  Alguien
dispara las puertas.
¡Qué miedo,
madre!
  (¡Ay, los que en andas del viento,
en un velero a estas horas
vayan arando los mares!)
  Alguien barre
y canta
y barre.
  Algún caballo, alejándose,
imprime su pie en el eco
de la calle.
¡Qué miedo,
madre!
  ¡Si alguien llamara a la puerta!
¡Si se apareciera padre
con su túnica talar
chorreando!...
¡Qué horror,
madre!
    Alguien barre
               
y canta
                     
y barre.

i wonder




if someone else called you

to tell them a story

because the nightmares wouldn't cut their ropes,

would you kick your heels

upon your desk and spin

a tale as long as the night itself

until they fell asleep?



"a beautiful red-haired princess

lived in a land

far far away

but she was so amazing

that the prince would scale

the highest of the mountainsides

to see her"



you were always writing me

into fairytales

and sometimes they helped

fight the darkness



did I ever tell you about those nightmares?

how I heard an old Chicano folktale

about La Llorona

and how she came to me in a dream

weeping and screeching

and clawing at her eyes

and shrieking "Ayudame!"

through the tangle of the black woods in front of me

twisting riddles through my slumber.



do you know that

sometimes during barre stretch,

when we shoot our legs skyward,

or when i'm filing college interviews

your smile-laugh ripples

through my ears

and I grit my teeth

through peppermint pain

and try to drown it out?



did I ever tell you

when I got the phrases

"La Llorona"y "la rana"

scrambled up in my brain?

La maestra told us we would be

leyendo un cuento

sobre la rana

en the pond

and I thought she meant a story of

La Llorona

the wailing woman

maestro of a symphony of screams

and my heart stopped working

and I told her, "No puedo, I can't."

and she said, "Silly girl, la rana es 'the frog'."

and laughed.



do you remember when

they took me to a grave

and you told me about cancer

and how you thought that you'd die young?

you said it

so calmly

as if the dead around you

were offering up their Easter lilies

as a bridal bouquet

to be tossed to a lucky relative

and i just looked at you

with sea-glass eyes

and you kissed me

as the tears spilled over

into silent rivers

down my cheeks



i wonder

if sometimes

when you listen closely

you can hear the bottle-sculptures'

mouths lisping with the wind

or la rana

croaking in the pond

and smile-laughing right along with you

at me.



if the story has a different beginning now

or a middle

or an end



or if you've written me out entirely

or maybe just changed my fate



"a beautiful red-haired princess

was punished for her vanity

and doomed to wander and wail

for all of eternity

for she had done wrong."



and am I La Llarona,

the weeping woman?

because that's all I ever

seemed to do

The dreams are gone now

or, rather, the nightmares

but there are some things

more haunting in reality.



i wonder if she hears

the coded tick-tock

of the static

or the shrill cries

of tortured souls

forever searching

forever lost



i wonder

if you love her

more than me.

We were walking
down some street
well,
I was walking
He had a scooter

i see so much of myself in you,
and you have such subtle give in your conviction,
your eyes are like mirrors,
your heart a hardwood floor,
but someone has ripped the barre
from this ballet studio,
i find no place in you
to steady myself.

"i used to dance" -
what a horrible phrase

"i used to take my body
and use it to create beauty
in a physical form
but now i don't"

"i used to hear music
not just with my ears
but with my veins
but now i don't"

"i used to feel myself
being pulled across the stage
a puppet on invisible
but beautiful strings"

"i used to see everything
in the world and in nature
as a barre or a stage
but now i don't"

"i used to dance" -
what a horrible phrase
akin somehow to
"i used to live".

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Mobile/Stabile - I don’t speak French

Main two types of mainly 3D artist
Alexander “sandy” Calder

Mobile - is a French pun meaning both "motion" and "motive"

If you had one of these above your crib to muse over as you drifted to dreamland, you have Sandy to thank.

Stabile-  following the style of the name mobile, is a sculpture that is unmovable

Both are French words I have trouble saying


I am becoming or was becoming paralyzed from my feet up
(they still haven’t decided which,
feel free to laugh at that)

Feel free to laugh at all of it, I do

I have complications from unbeknownst year long scarlet fever that turned into rheumatic fever that turned into julian Barre to thank for that.

There is no cure, so I’m using condescension.
I call it Julian Barre because “Gee YAWN BERET” is just so **** hard to eek out.
And
It requires more pomp than it deserves

Okay it’s part condescension and part more French words I can’t quite say.

It’s sort of like the opposite of when I try to say  “petit” pwessON” to be cute, I mean to say Little Fish to address my partner:

But instead say “petit pwazOne” which means
little Poison

E shita lekuren bashke me kockat
E dhashe me cmim te lire
U lehtesova nga nje barre e rende
E mora udhen tutje si era...
Vetja s'mu duk rrugac,as shenjt
Per cudi u ndjeva me teper njeri!

demon in the bathroom mirror
last rock of crystal went missing
bulging eyes in my reflection
I didn’t like that
i couldn’t find crystal but i don’t ask
those guys actually saved my life.
two hours to billings, montana and the
prairie grass glistened in the
last minute Sunday morning sunlight
thanksgiving day drive.

designer machete and the wineberries
broken shabbat demarcation line
and i tried yet again to perform a task
to completion without getting distracted
screaming from the bathroom

‘i can’t hit a vein! I can’t hit a vein!’
water in the rig
miss crystal swimming in mine
Christ in the Cosmos
two plantains on the kitchen island in
a town house on west orange.
no man is an island
but I pretended that i was so
i could finally climb the double helix home.

i  can’t be creative if i’m always in
a mad rush.
‘Prove to me your value! Justify your being here,
can you see me? Why can’t anyone see me?
how about now?’
tongue caught in a snare
pestilence in the mason jar
smoked paprika in the finish
water in the rig
‘Jordan? Was there even anything in here?’

i used to lay prostrate on the
couch
ad infinitum.
one thing they don’t tell you is that when
you’re dope sick you have to take
a giant **** about every five minutes.
the free cable in the apartment complex
actually saved my life.
furniture - mid century modern -
had to let it go.
hadn’t really listened to music in 18 months
besides pop country radio stations
‘i got that summertime, summertime sadness’
ad infinitum.
somehow I had decent pair of headphones and
a small, black verizon smartphone circa July 2013.
‘do what you want, what you want with my body…’
Lady Gaga actually saved my life that day.

demon in the ikea medicine cabinet mirror
giant rock of crystal
missing
water in the rig
‘was there even anything in there?!?!?!’
the mirror reflected back to me a stranger’s eyes
mirror is another name for a stranger's eyes.
i tabernacled in the high desert plains,
Sheridan, Wyoming - powder river country.

i felt the God-force emerge yesterday
up and outward from deep within my belly.
but today i’m fussing over straw-men
in plaster-of-paris suits
and i ate tortured beef at a
diner in Leesport, PA
and I can’t turn back into the man I was
no matter how hard I try.

so now I sit before
the most holy apostle St. Jude
located at Our Lady of Fatima Grotto
across the street from Kings College, Wilkes-Barre, PA.
‘The quickest way to Hell are the temptations of the flesh, exclamation point.’
i came here to reclaim my value but
i can’t seem to find it anywhere.

i keep getting flashbacks of the water in the rig
and the screaming from the bathroom and
if i didn’t tell somebody about this i was probably
going to *****.

3 cheers for the Black Madonna and
the big surrender.
i’ve swallowed so many shadows by now
that i don’t recognize myself in the mirror
or in your eyes.
but my body is a christmas tree and
from the branches i hang
plastic tinsel and
crystals and
broken timing chains
and a cedar wood mala.

I see that Christ is always pointing to
his sacred heart
but no one ever told me that
the anahata chakra had a back door.
no wonder sometimes I feel like i’m a
hydrogen bomb welded inside a lead casket.
someone open the ******* door and
let some light in.

the sun doesn’t rise from the west
and there is no rest for the weary and
to this day I act like that wasn’t only
water in the rig.

final option: exit in sight
shall i walk this way?

rachel, eva and samuel being in the room
my tribewords for what i consider family

final option: exit in sight
shall i walk this way?

while you are remaining in this room of memories
while samuel is crying
while eva is sobbing
rachel - dem kid's mother - being desperate

you know what rachel?
we are akin to each other
like characters in sentences:
dots

unlike the undertones of
exclamation marks and exclamation points

samuel is crying
eva is sobbing
cause you guys are in another city
far away

you sent me a message:
"i have to protect the children"

tell me:

from whom?
from what?

estimate: how many fathers does a child have?
spell out how
man and woman
wife and husband

become able to defend and favor their
shadows lips and wishes

is there any meaning?
am i flaying my skin daily?
i am not a snake
i am darkness and light
like the rest of us
bizarre billions made of
languages moral values religions

do i have to skin myself daily?
does this have to mean even a bit?

i don't know bambina
but i am sensing that we are ONE:

blood boomerangs bound
boomerangs bound blood
blood bound and boomerangs

the devil cracked our bound
he grinned and said:
"my lost son i am
looking at you: a man full of doubts

ain't no thang though
i am confirming on oath:
i will be getting rid of your doubts
colorfully
they will be gone

we just need a gimmick

hereby i am passing on the golden goblet to you
there is some stuff in it
to be found in lies and magic"


young jeezy (me ok)

harold hunter (kids, larry clark)

falco (rock me amadeus)

ali (mobster)

dmx (my ******)

fassbender (angst essen seele auf, in englisch: fear eats up your soul)

robin williams (comedian?)

benjamin von stuckrad-barre (writer and addict)

whitney houston (who was really crying?)

angelina jolie (in the land of milk and honey)

sigmund freud (will you lead me to the origins of golem?)


they daily drank from the goblet
the list of my friends is long and enduring

some of 'em died
some continued to live
some decayed with numb limbs
in musty chambers
closed curtains

glossing ghosts above the head of
west indian archie
once a powerful gangster now a broke burnout

but this is one of many countless chapters
my son
ain't we good together boy?

i am confirming on oath:
i will be getting rid of your doubts
colorfully
they will be gone

successful people drink from the goblet;
they are in charge of their lifes
my son

the golden goblet is like heat in the coldness
the golden goblet is like cooling down in the heat of the desert

water
purity
nature and leaves
chemistry and magic

my friends are global
my friends are cosmopolits
by the time some lose the "r" on their path:
they become fiends

but this is one of many countless chapters
my son
ain't we good together boy?

all cultures
all religions
all languages

all my friends love the golden goblet
more than themselves
cause the golden goblet procures them

dear deception

all my friends don't love themselves anymore
but the golden goblet
all my friends don't love themselves anymore
but the golden goblet

devils hang out beyond rehab centres
they listen to the
conversations of addicts
they want to figure out their weaknesses
analyze and exploit them

devil flapped his arms
high up in the skies
cheating god's position
between trees and snowwhite castles in bavaria a state of germany

while the devil was listening to the addicts he held
the golden goblet under the moon's reflections thereupon

the golden goblet was ablazed with light
like a constellation superior to the earthly ghosts of weakness
the golden goblet sparkled

the addicts perceived it
as children perceive candy
as teenagers perceive the defeatable supremacy of grown-ups

they perceived the sparkling
as if you were listening to your favourite song

addiction is emotional
addiction is the blind quest for meaning

the golden goblet twinkled over the roofs of the bavarian rehab centre
and one of the addicts a young woman
looked up into the blackness of heaven
frankly speaking it was sparkling everywhere

the woman suddenly thought:
i have twins
i worked as a *******
i am not permitted to see my kids

in deliverances she spoke:
"i was a *****"
"i have twins"
"i order 'em precious clothes"

a sheen coming from the devil's
pupil
as she expressed her fate

she sighed and said:
"nut doc give me prescription... first i
don't wanna take 'em ***** though
they called (...)
and (...)
and (...)
and (...)

after slinging though" she proceeded with a shivering voice
" my feeling like gold"

her mouth opened widely as if she was hungry
golden sheen

a darkred eyebrow
vibrating ******
bald head full of

holes scars blood

since the beginning of memorizing
devil has been breeding horror:

not to mention the death of g.t.
leaving parents in a daze

not to mention the death of a.k.
leaving siblings in a daze

not to mention when a mother passed away: t.z.
leaving children in a daze

since day one devil has been embroiled in torment
born from the fight of brightness and night
the creature awoke

only in darkness
hidden by the star's twilight
beyond distances
we recognize him

when he is far away from us
like glorified past
on earth though
he embodies the shape of human beings
to be between us
to expose our weaknesses
that's his guzzling his brew and his - blessing

our failing strenghtens him
he be muscle

our illness strenghtens him
he be tizzop

He abierto la ventana. Entra sin hacer ruido
(afuera deja sus constelaciones).
«Buenas noches, Noche».
Pasa las páginas de sombra
en las que todo está ya escrito.
Viene a pedirme cuentas.

«Salí al rayar el alba -digo-.
Lamía el sol las paredes leprosas
Olía a vino, a miel, a jara»
(Deslumbrada por tanta claridad
ha entornado los ojos).
La llevan mis palabras por calles, ascuas, no lo sé:
oye la plata de las campanadas.
Ante la puerta de la iglesia
me callo, me detengo -entraría conmigo-
si yo no me callase, si no me detuviera-;
yo sé bien lo que quiere la Noche;
lo de todas las noches;
si no, por qué habría venido.

Ya mi memoria no es lo que era. En la misa del alba
no dije Agnus Dei qui tollis pecata mundi,
sino que dije Marta Dei  (ella también es cordero de Dios
que quita mis pecados del mundo).
La noche no podría comprenderlo,
y qué decirle, y cómo, para que lo entendiese.

No me pregunta nada la Noche,
no me pregunta nada. Ella lo sabe todo
antes que yo lo diga, antes que yo lo sepa.
Ella ha oído esos versos
que se escupen de boca en boca, versos
de un malaleche del Andalucía
al que otro malaleche de solar montañés
llamara «capellán del rey de bastos»
en los que se hace mofa de mí y de Marta,
amor mío, resumen de todos mis amores:
Dicho me han por una carta
que es tu cómica persona
sobre los manteles, mona
y entre las sábanas, Marta.
qué sabrá ese tahúr, ese amargado
lo que es amor.
La Noche trae entre los pliegues de su toga
un polvillo de música, como el del ala de la mariposa.
Una música hilada en la vihuela
del maestro del danzar, nuestro vecino.
En la cocina estará escuchando Marta;
danzará, mientras barre el suelo que no ve,
manchado de ceniza, de aroma, de trigo candeal,
de jazmines, de estrellas, de papeles rompidos.
Danza y barra Marta.

Pido a la Noche que se vaya. Hasta mañana, Noche.
Déjame que descanse. Cuando amanezca regaré el jardín,
saldré después a decir misa.
-Deus meus, Deus meus, quare tristis est amina mea-
luego volveré a casa, terminaré una epístola en tercetos
escribiré unas hojas
de la comedia que encargaron unos representantes.
Que las cosas no marchan bien en el teatro,
y uno no puede dormirse en los laureles.

Hasta mañana, Noche.
Tengo que dar la cena a Marta,
asearla, peinarla (ella no vive ya en el mundo nuestro),
cuidar que no alborote mis papeles,
que no apuñale las paredes con mis plumas
mis bien cortadas plumas,
tengo que confesarla. «Padre, vivo en pecado»
(no sabe que el pecado es de los dos),
y dirá luego: «Lope, quiero morirme»
(y qué sucedería si yo muriese antes que ella).
Ego te absolvo.

Y luego, sosegada, le contaré, para dormirla,
aventuras de olas, de galeones, de arcabuces, de rumbos marinos,
de lugares vividos y soñados: de lo que fue
y que no fue y que pudo ser mi vida.
Abre tus ojos verdes, Marta, que quiero oír el mar.

with every dance
I forget your face
as I pique across the floor and
turn and turn
and turn
and spin
and try
to lose the dizzy
refuse to stumble
to the barre.

you always loved a ballerina.

I forget your cold
words
as I pas de chat
across the floor
and I jump so high
like my feet are burning
like the floor is
filled with
burning coals
the feeling I had
the last time I saw you.

Jump, you doe,
hop away.
get out of here.

I forgot you until
the waltz turn.
until my arms went in and out
and my feet pranced up and down.
and I spun and I spun
and spun
and let the dizzy
fly away as
I refuse to stumble
to the barre.

I had never been a dancer until now.

“Dearest Degas,” she scrawled
script tipped and tainted by blood,
a reward only the most skilled of movement makers receive,
one she gives away all too freely.
“It’s times like these that make me think
I used to be a lot closer to God
and to you,
but the lines are blurring now
between you two
and I am burning now with memories
of the arch of your back echoed by brows
crested by beads of sweet sweat
raised higher still with finger-lickin’ lies
and lowered by our goodbyes.
They say my knees got lazy,
but I pray en pointe daily
at that battered barre,
my altar
closer to God than they’ve ever been.
And it’s His name I speak,
spoke
over us as we rolled in our sin.
‘Turn to God!’ they screamed
but you were always a better comforter than He.
And without you to give me form,
I will dance no more.”

Je suis l'astre des nuits. Je brille, pâle et blanche,
Sur la feuille qui tremble au sommet d'une branche,
Sur le ruisseau qui dort, sur les lacs, bien plus beaux
Quand mes voiles d'argent s'étendent sur leurs eaux.
Mes rayons vont chercher les fleurs que je préfère,
Et font monter au ciel les parfums de la terre ;
Je donne la rosée au rameau desséché,
Que l'ardeur du soleil a, sur le sol, penché.
Sitôt que je parais, tout se tait et repose,
L'homme quitte les champs, et l'abeille la rose :
Plus de bruit dans les airs, plus de chant dans les bois ;
Devant mon doux regard nul n'élève sa voix,
De la terre ou du ciel aucun son ne s'élance,
J'arrive avec la nuit, et je règne en silence !
Je cache mes rayons quand le cri des hiboux
Vient troubler mon repos et mon calme si doux.

Je suis l'astre des nuits ; je brille, pâle et blanche,
Sur le cœur attristé, sur le front qui se penche,
Sur tout ce qui gémit, sur tout ce qui se plaint,
Sur tous les yeux en pleurs qu'aucun sommeil n'atteint.

Quelques heureux, parfois, me donnent un sourire,
S'aiment, et devant moi trouvent doux de le dire ;
J'écoute avec bonheur leurs longs serments d'amour,
Je leur promets tout bas de n'en rien dire au jour.
Mais les plus beaux rayons de mon blanc diadème
Sont pour vous qui souffrez !... C'est vous surtout que j'aime
Donnez-moi vos soupirs et donnez-moi vos pleurs ;
Laissez-moi deviner vos secrètes douleurs,
Le rêve inachevé qui n'a point de parole,
Que nul ne sut jamais et que nul ne console !
J'ai pour les cœurs brisés, ainsi que pour les fleurs,
Une fraîche rosée endormant les douleurs.
Écoutez-moi ce soir, vous saurez un mystère
Ignoré jusqu'ici du reste de la terre,
Secret que je révèle à ceux de mes élus,
Qui m'ont le plus aimée et qui rêvent le plus.

Je vous dirai pourquoi je brille, pâle et blanche,
Sur le cœur attristé, sur le front qui se penche,
Sur tout ce qui gémit, sur tout ce qui se plaint,
Sur tous les yeux en pleurs qu'aucun sommeil n'atteint.

Votre vie, ici-bas, est un triste voyage,
Dont le ciel, où je suis, est le port, le rivage ;
Elle a bien des écueils, la route où vous passez...
Et vous n'arrivez pas sans vous être blessés !
Vous n'abordez pas tous sur la céleste plage,
Ceux qui se sont souillés demeurent à l'écart ;
Coupables et souffrants, dans une morne attente,
Ils s'arrêtent au seuil du séjour où l'on chante.
Un ange, dont les pleurs voilent le doux regard,
Leur barre le chemin et murmure : « Plus **** ! »
- Parmi ces exilés traînant au **** leur chaîne,
Parmi les longs sanglots de ces âmes en peine,
Errantes **** de Dieu, du soleil et du jour,
Moi, je prends en pitié les coupables d'amour.
J'appelle auprès de moi ces Âmes de la terre,
Qu'un Dieu juste éloigna du séjour de lumière,
Parce qu'en sa présence elles gardaient encor
Un souvenir d'amour, au delà de leur mort.
Je leur donne ma nuit, mes rayons, mes étoiles,
Je donne à leur exil l'abri de mes longs voiles,
Et les larmes, le soir, qui coulent de leurs yeux,
Semblent à vos regards des étoiles des cieux ;
Ce ne sont que des pleurs... des pleurs d'âmes souffrantes,
Qui, la nuit, dans l'espace avec moi sont errantes.

Vous, encor sur la terre où s'agitent vos cœurs,
Levez les yeux vers moi ! j'ai près de moi vos sœurs.
Oh ! veillez bien sur vous... et priez bien pour elles !
Entendez-vous leurs pleurs ? car si mes nuits sont belles,
Pourtant Dieu n'est pas là ! le seul repos, c'est Lui...
Il fait jour près de Dieu, - je ne suis que la nuit !

Je vous ai dit pourquoi je brille pâle et blanche
Sur le cœur attristé, sur le front qui se penche,
Sur tout ce qui gémit, sur tout ce qui se plaint,
Sur tous les yeux en pleurs qu'aucun sommeil n'atteint.

Lorsque l'on veut monter aux tours des cathédrales,

On prend l'escalier noir qui roule ses spirales,

Comme un serpent de pierre au ventre d'un clocher.


L'on chemine d'abord dans une nuit profonde,

Sans trèfle de soleil et de lumière blonde,

Tâtant le mur des mains, de peur de trébucher ;


Car les hautes maisons voisines de l'église

Vers le pied de la tour versent leur ombre grise,

Qu'un rayon lumineux ne vient jamais trancher.


S'envolant tout à coup, les chouettes peureuses

Vous flagellent le front de leurs ailes poudreuses,

Et les chauves-souris s'abattent sur vos bras ;


Les spectres, les terreurs qui hantent les ténèbres,

Vous frôlent en passant de leurs crêpes funèbres ;

Vous les entendez geindre et chuchoter tout bas.


À travers l'ombre on voit la chimère accroupie

Remuer, et l'écho de la voûte assoupie

Derrière votre pas suscite un autre pas.


Vous sentez à l'épaule une pénible haleine,

Un souffle intermittent, comme d'une âme en peine

Qu'on aurait éveillée et qui vous poursuivrait.


Et si l'humidité fait des yeux de la voûte,

Larmes du monument, tomber l'eau goutte à goutte,

Il semble qu'on dérange une ombre qui pleurait.


Chaque fois que la vis, en tournant, se dérobe,

Sur la dernière marche un dernier pli de robe,

Irritante terreur, brusquement disparaît.


Bientôt le jour, filtrant par les fentes étroites,

Sur le mur opposé trace des lignes droites,

Comme une barre d'or sur un écusson noir.


L'on est déjà plus haut que les toits de la ville,

Édifices sans nom, masse confuse et vile,

Et par les arceaux gris le ciel bleu se fait voir.


Les hiboux disparus font place aux tourterelles,

Qui lustrent au soleil le satin de leurs ailes

Et semblent roucouler des promesses d'espoir.


Des essaims familiers perchent sur les tarasques,

Et, sans se rebuter de la laideur des masques,

Dans chaque bouche ouverte un oiseau fait son nid.


Les guivres, les dragons et les formes étranges

Ne sont plus maintenant que des figures d'anges,

Séraphiques gardiens taillés dans le granit,


Qui depuis huit cents ans, pensives sentinelles,

Dans leurs niches de pierre, appuyés sur leurs ailes,

Montent leur faction qui jamais ne finit.


Vous débouchez enfin sur une plate-forme,

Et vous apercevez, ainsi qu'un monstre énorme,

La Cité grommelante, accroupie alentour.


Comme un requin, ouvrant ses immenses mâchoires,

Elle mord l'horizon de ses mille dents noires,

Dont chacune est un dôme, un clocher, une tour.


À travers le brouillard, de ses naseaux de plâtre

Elle souffle dans l'air son haleine bleuâtre,

Que dore par flocons un chaud reflet de jour.


Comme sur l'eau qui bout monte et chante l'écume,

Sur la ville toujours plane une ardente brume,

Un bourdonnement sourd fait de cent bruits confus :


Ce sont les tintements et les grêles volées

Des cloches, de leurs voix sonores ou fêlées,

Chantant à plein gosier dans leurs beffrois touffus ;


C'est le vent dans le ciel et l'homme sur la terre ;

C'est le bruit des tambours et des clairons de guerre,

Ou des canons grondeurs sonnant sur leurs affûts ;


C'est la rumeur des chars, dont la prompte lanterne

File comme une étoile à travers l'ombre terne,

Emportant un heureux aux bras de son désir ;


Le soupir de la vierge au balcon accoudée,

Le marteau sur l'enclume et le fait sur l'idée,

Le cri de la douleur ou le chant du plaisir.


Dans cette symphonie au colossal orchestre,

Que n'écrira jamais musicien terrestre,

Chaque objet fait sa note impossible à saisir.


Vous pensiez être en haut ; mais voici qu'une aiguille,

Où le ciel découpé par dentelles scintille,

Se présente soudain devant vos pieds lassés.


Il faut monter encore dans la mince tourelle,

L'escalier qui serpente en spirale plus frêle,

Se pendant aux crampons de **** en **** placés.


Le vent, d'un air moqueur, à vos oreilles siffle,

La goule étend sa griffe et la guivre renifle,

Le vertige alourdit vos pas embarrassés.


Vous voyez **** de vous, comme dans des abîmes,

S'aplanir les clochers et les plus hautes cimes ;

Des aigles les plus fiers vous dominez l'essor.


Votre sueur se fige à votre front en nage ;

L'air trop vif vous étouffe : allons, enfant, courage !

Vous êtes près des cieux ; allons, un pas encore !


Et vous pourrez toucher, de votre main surprise,

L'archange colossal que fait tourner la brise,

Le saint Michel géant qui tient un glaive d'or ;


Et si, vous accoudant sur la rampe de marbre,

Qui palpite au grand vent, comme une branche d'arbre,

Vous dirigez en bas un œil moins effrayé,


Vous verrez la campagne à plus de trente lieues,

Un immense horizon, bordé de franges bleues,

Se déroulant sous vous comme un tapis rayé ;


Les carrés de blé d'or, les cultures zébrées,

Les plaques de gazon de troupeaux noirs tigrées ;

Et, dans le sainfoin rouge, un chemin blanc frayé ;


Les cités, les hameaux, nids semés dans la plaine,

Et partout, où se groupe une famille humaine,

Un clocher vers le ciel, comme un doigt s'allongeant.


Vous verrez dans le golfe, aux bras des promontoires,

La mer se diaprer et se gaufrer de moires,

Comme un kandjiar turc damasquiné d'argent ;


Les vaisseaux, alcyons balancés sur leurs ailes,

Piquer l'azur lointain de blanches étincelles

Et croiser en tous sens leur vol intelligent.


Comme un sein plein de lait gonflant leurs voiles ronde,

Sur la foi de l'aimant ils vont chercher des mondes,

Des rivages nouveaux sur de nouvelles mers :


Dans l'Inde, de parfums, d'or et de soleil pleine,

Dans la Chine bizarre, aux tours de porcelaine,

Chimérique pays peuplé de dragons verts ;


Ou vers Otaïti, la belle fleur des ondes,

De ses longs cheveux noirs tordant les perles blondes,

Comme une autre Vénus, fille des flots amers ;


À Ceylan, à Java, plus **** encore peut-être,

Dans quelque île déserte et dont on se rend maître,

Vers une autre Amérique échappée à Colomb.


Hélas ! Et vous aussi, sans crainte, ô mes pensées,

Livrant aux vents du ciel vos ailes empressées,

Vous tentez un voyage aventureux et long.


Si la foudre et le nord respectent vos antennes,

Des pays inconnus et des îles lointaines

Que rapporterez-vous ? De l'or, ou bien du plomb ?...


La spirale soudain s'interrompt et se brise.

Comme celui qui monte au clocher de l'église,

Me voici maintenant au sommet de ma tour.


J'ai planté le drapeau tout au haut de mon œuvre.

Ah ! Que depuis longtemps, pauvre et rude manœuvre,

Insensible à la joie, à la vie, à l'amour,


Pour garder mon dessin avec ses lignes pures,

J'émousse mon ciseau contre des pierres dures,

Élevant à grande peine une assise par jour !


Pendant combien de mois suis-je resté sous terre,

Creusant comme un mineur ma fouille solitaire,

Et cherchant le roc vif pour mes fondations !


Et pourtant le soleil riait sur la nature ;

Les fleurs faisaient l'amour, et toute créature

Livrait sa fantaisie au vent des passions ;


Le printemps dans les bois faisait courir la sève,

Et le flot, en chantant, venait baiser la grève ;

Tout n'était que parfum, plaisir, joie et rayons !


Patient architecte, avec mes mains pensives

Sur mes piliers trapus inclinant mes ogives,

Je fouillais sous l'église un temple souterrain ;


Puis l'église elle-même, avec ses colonnettes,

Qui semble, tant elle a d'aiguilles et d'arêtes,

Un madrépore immense, un polypier marin ;


Et le clocher hardi, grand peuplier de pierre,

Où gazouillent, quand vient l'heure de la prière,

Avec les blancs ramiers, des nids d'oiseaux d'airain.


Du haut de cette tour à grande peine achevée,

Pourrais-je t'entrevoir, perspective rêvée,

Terre de Chanaan où tendait mon effort ?


Pourrai-je apercevoir la figure du monde,

Les astres dans le ciel accomplissant leur ronde,

Et les vaisseaux quittant et regagnant le port ?


Si mon clocher passait seulement de la tête

Les toits ou les tuyaux de la ville, ou le faîte

De ce donjon aigu qui du brouillard ressort ;


S'il était assez haut pour découvrir l'étoile

Que la colline bleue avec son dos me voile,

Le croissant qui s'écorne au toit de la maison ;


Pour voir, au ciel de smalt, les flottantes nuées,

Par le vent du matin mollement remuées,

Comme un troupeau de l'air secouer leur toison ;


Et la gloire, la gloire, astre et soleil de l'âme,

Dans un océan d'or, avec le globe en flamme,

Majestueusement monter à l'horizon !

You've got a flat screen mounted
on your kitchen wall with zip
ties and chewing gum.
There's an ashtray by your left
wrist, and a tattoo on your right
of a midnight street light sunshine
shine
down
on a reupholstered love seat,
only used twice: once for the Eisenhowers,
once for last weekend watching Seinfeld
reruns, putting out Sonomas and *** talk
on the twill-like cushions in that dank
basement apartment w/ poster'd brick
walls.
Slayer, Sinatra, Sabbath, Springsteen,
a Space Cowboy, and something Sanskrit
above your box-springless mattress
about the cosmos spitting hellfire
next month because we didn't sacrifice
crumpled dollars yesterday, or Clinton
in the '90s. There are masses of humans paying
for the market collapse that sent 800,000
oranges rolling into the street, cold.
God-fearing couples are abstaining from ***
to save their souls from the ******
Rapture. Cable cords are being unplugged
in the middle of A Christmas Story so people
can hang themselves from church steeples
to avoid ruining their Chuck Taylor Loafer
Tennis Shoes in the molten **** suffocating
saplings and parking meters. Christ'll save
the righteous ones, the ones strung up closest
to the bell tower.

The parish hall radio says salvation's
only as good as a new haircut.
And that we should all pick up the warped
acoustic guitar in the cellar, and try
to form barre chords with our swollen
knuckles and arthritic wrists now
because punk music will be dead tomorrow.
Hell, the postman will be dead tomorrow,
and every little postcard, paycheck, and print
coupon he's carrying will be dead, too.

There is an ashtray by your left wrist,
and a tattoo on your right.

Introduction before the curtain is opened.
-->The  introducer addresses the audience.


Instead of none-stop
Condemning the past
Let us do our part
To lift our country
From economic morass fast.
Better than licking a wound,
Taking corrective measures
On former leaders’ mistakes
We could
Capitalizing, on what
They did good.

(Open Curtain)

--> Enters Emperor Tewodros II

I had tried
Citizens to unite
So that
They will not
Stop short of might
When invaders they fight!

I had also exemplified
Portraying a spectacular
Self dignity and pride
Whatever sacrifices
Trying times demand,
A coward,
An Ethiopian must not
Yield a hand.


To convey
I had also tried,
Though possible
As a tourist,explorer and
Even a covert spy
To enjoy oneself in
Ethiopia, famed for
A hospitable land
The impossibility
To carry away with
A shoe
Ethiopia’s golden
Silt or a sand.


--> Enters Emperor Yohannes IV



In the battle of Gundat
And Gura
I had shuttered
Egyptians' and Khedivi’s
And their Europian advisers'
And North Americans' aura.

Revolted by
A scramble for domestic power
Or salivating for wealth
And abhorring
Stooping to things glittering,
Defending my country
And faith
Valorous, on the forefront
Of a battle
I did shake hands
With the angel of death.


Successors,
There are lessons
You should learn
Adoring your country
Rent seeking
You have to shun,
Putting my country first
A notable self sacrifice
As I had done!


--> Enters Emperor Menelik II


Simply with
A sword and a spear
Carrying a shield
And riding a horse,
I did chase out
To its teeth
With modern weapon
Armed invading force.

When citizens
Join force and unite
With a golden pen
History they can write
History that flickers light
The oppressed,worldwide,
Could win if they fight
For their
God-bestowed right.

Also to modernization
According focal attention
Must be the task of
A given nation
If ignorance and disease
Their tight grip
Must cease.


--> Enters Emperor Haile selassie I

When many warned me
“You will live to regret
Your good gesture!”
To the development of
My country giving
Focal attention
I allowed students pursue
Further education.

I  also allowed many  here
And   abroad a broad-array of
Subjects learn
And their poor country
Serve in their turn.

A prophet
I exposed League of Nation's
Double standard
So that
The world understand
“Though today
Ethiopia’s turn
The flame of fascism
And ******
Tomorrow
Supper powers too will burn!”
It was my wont
In the diplomatic mission
To bring
My country to the front!

Along with fellow leaders,
It was my dream object,
To de-colonize
And unite the continent.

That is why many
Saw for a continental seat
—OAU later AU—
Ethiopia fit.

--> President Mengistu Haile Mariam

As revolution
Was the day’s talk
With the progressive
I broke
On peasants and
The proletariat
Imposed yoke.

Sied Barre’s
Unexpected attack
And intrusion
I had managed
To reverse back,

Also fighting
Mass illiteracy
Was my
Outstanding task.

In fact,
I did try to keep
My country intact.

-->Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

My long-cherished bent
Was ensuring
Political pluralism
And democracy’s advent
For which cause
My youth and adulthood
I spent.

I and combatants
After tyranny
To a grave sent,
I invited
Soon,
Marginalized states
To come aboard and
Equally enjoy
Development’s boon.

In an astounding
Developmental feat
I was out
The unconquerable

—Blue Nile—

To defeat.
Also against poverty
A similar victory repeat.
What is more
On the road
Of Renaissance
I did inspire
Over 80 ethnic group
Forward to run
Actualizing a leap in
Their life span.

A win-win
Environment smart growth
Was what,charismatic,
On the global arena
I brought forth
Making super powers believe
Giving attention to Africa
Is worth.

--> Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn

In trying times
Not to allow
Started mega projects
Suffer a set back
I saw to
Things are on the right track.

More than one cabinet reshuffle
In  the leading party
Deep renewal and reform,
Together with  members,
I did perform!

To a peaceful power transition
I have set a glaring example
A move
In Africa many took unthinkable!
Averse to rent seeking
I am patted on the back
“You have done a nice thing!”


(Close Curtain)

--> Introducer

Conspiracy
To grab the rein
Of power
At the cost of harm
Allowing one ethnic group
On others to tower
Sluggishness in resource
Utilization, not allowing
Development to equally
And fast flower,
Harbouring fright
When citizens exercise
Their allowed democratic right
Are follies
The coming generations
Have to fight
So that
Ensues peace
And days bright,
Off springs of Lucy
We have to always unite!///

I am from

A yellow house and a little red bike

Bruises and Band-Aids on my knees

From learning every time I fall



I am from

The Band, The Beatles, Buddy Holly, and Bruce Springsteen

Our small kitchen table and Christmas cookies

From a family that almost fits on my Grandparent’s front porch



I am from

Summer memories and freckles and the Field of Dreams

The swimming hole, egg salad sandwiches, popsicles and pecan sandies

From Gramma and Fred and the Mill Road



I am from generations of tiny waists and dainty wrists

Of Marlise and Melissa and M’s

Brown eyes and pine needles and Big Rock

From denial and acceptance



I am from

Tea with my mom and driving with my dad

My beautiful Hazel

From the Harvest Party and my beloved barn



I am from soft white clouds of comforters

A room painted the shade of pink lemonade

Arizonas and cosmic brownies and Matt’s Honeydew melon Sorbet

From Quickway and the Gazebo and Cherry Valley


I am from a collection of keys with no locks

Chewed cuticles and paper cuts

A mouthful of words and a bad habit of tripping

From the love of glue and sharp scissors



I am from years of *****, bare feet

And freedom to be me

Getting the mail everyday except Sunday

From picnic tables and corn on the cob


I am from a love of language and words and poetry

A love of planes and tractors and the Superbowl

A big family as strong as the Brooklyn Bridge

And just as supportive too


I am from my dream catcher

Catching my fantasies of fast cars and shooting stars

A bottle full of memories and polaroids taped to my wall

From hip hop and coca cola and heart shaped sunglasses


I am from the baby freckles on my shoulders

A love of sun and freshly mowed green grass

Brave New World and Brandy Melville

From tweeting and handwritten letters


I am from the studio floor and my ballet slippers

My favorite black leotard and Fuentes

12 years of pointed feet and tutus

From the dressing room and the barre


I am from the Star of David and 8 burning candles

Suburban Philadelphia and Black Friday

Diners and Chinese Food and Fortunes

From my dad


I am from the cornfields and red barns

Chickens and cows, fresh eggs and warm milk

Valedictorians and Ivy leagues

From my mom



But most of all, I am from the puzzle pieces of myself

The dark, dusty, unexplored corners of my brain

The fear of death and rats and failure and loneliness

From the love of life and belief and hope

have you ever felt
lost
in a deadly abyss of
thought?

it's emotionally
exhaustive
and socially
caustic
to be caught
thinking
thoughts
instead of
singing
songs.

with those
disturbing thoughts
come a lot of
perturbing feelings

and if you've ever
been unable
to explain or
detain
one of those feelings
just know that
you are not
alone.

not all of us can
assign a name
to an emotion
however benign
not all of us are so
well acquainted
with our own minds
that we can picture
the face in our brains
staring us down

but i'm daring you
the next time you
cannot justify
cannot simplify
or expedite
a feeling down
to a name
just don't
even
try.

place your finger
over that emotion
the way you would barre
your guitar strings
heart strings on
the second fret

gently
gently
run your other
hand down over
the sound hole
located somewhere
between your
stomach and
sorely neglected
central nervous system
and then pull
it back up
to play the
melody of your
most knotted
spinal chord
not too fast
not too loud

or if you find
it easier to see
the white notes laid out
unroll the shiny top
over your backbone
and press down
softly
softly
bending your fingers up
and down each
key of vertebrate
in an ascending or
descending scale
the length of which
depends upon
how tall you are.

slowly
slowly
forget
about
names
faces
sleepless nights
or how your insecurity
is still on par with
you at fourteen
when you first tried
to exploit it into music
but now you've found it best
just to tuck it behind your ears.

and learn
the cadence of
that feeling
explore each
note and tone
and play with
how it fits into
a song
surrounded by
other sounds.

you may never
play it again
you may play it
every day
for the rest of
your life

but all that is
irrelevant
in light of this
moment
a few seconds of
stilted peace and quiet.

listen to your
feelings
until your fingers
bleed
out the suppressed
emotions
society expects you
to ignore

play them like
you were in
an orchestra
and this was the
moment
of your solo

but don't
name
anything
unless you're
calling it cadd9
gsus4
em
or a7

and never
find yourself
or your
heart strings
afraid
of f#m
or even the darkest of
spinal chords
for i know that
everyone has cried
alone in the
dead of night
over the sound of
b flat.

It was a cold night when you told me
In the basement of my parent’s house
About how your mother would leave you alone
With your father
Who abused you and your sister
For years on end
Week after week.
Month after month.
You would call your mother to please
Come pick you up,
But she never came.
The truth was she didn’t know.
No, the truth was she didn’t care.
I can’t imagine how bad that must've felt.
How bad that must feel.
I never knew why you were so secretive.
I chalked it up to you cheating on me;
It would be easier to deal with
Than the truth.
The truth was that your back really hurt you
And your mom was on medication for pain
From a car accident she was in when she was 18
And you only took in dire circumstances
When you couldn’t bear the pain.
No, the truth was that you had headaches,
Migraines,
But the stuff about your mother was true.
No.
No, the truth was that you were selling drugs
That your mother had prescribed to her.
The truth was your paycheck went to paying her
For your addiction to those pills.
I found one in my car and you threw it and told me
Nothing was more important to you than me.
I never believed a word you said.
No, not even then.
I was in someone else’s bed when you left a message,
Saying you have been addicted
For the past year we were together,
And now you’re going to get clean.
I never knew what it was like to forget how to breathe.
I only caught my breath when I knew you were there,
With no way of communicating with me.
With no way of communicating with anyone.
You called me the last night you were there,
Telling me lies that comforted me for two years.
I wished I could be deaf so I couldn’t hear,
But you have always been able to paint
Such beautiful misery.
And my heartbeat began to resound in my chest,
And I realized how foolish a heart I had.
A sober house was where I would pick you up.
A halfway house.
I never knew what that meant, halfway house,
But now I knew more than I ever wish I could.
Halfway between rehab and real life.
Halfway between who you could be and who you really are.
Halfway between the old you and the new you.
You figured that we would fall back into love;
I figured I could only meet you halfway.
Because we never shared love.
You never had love for me.
I could never numb you to your past,
To your life,
I couldn’t be swallowed and course through your veins,
Though I would have given anything to be your cure.
I wasn’t allowed in the halfway house,
So we regressed to the age of sixteen,
Driving around and listening to music.
We turned into our old selves in the parking lot of a hibachi joint,
Arguing about how I can’t just be driving for two hours.
“There’s a spot behind the house.”
“Let’s go there.”
And there we were,
Just like the old us, but halfway to new,
With Bright Eyes blasting through my speakers,
I was sure all of Wilkes-Barre could hear,
But they only knew the half of it:
You would pause and sing me all of your favorite parts,
Whispering to my lips as if they were my ears,
Like my body was your own personal musical instrument.
You looked into my eyes and told me
How you have always been in love with me.
It was always me.
I never believed a word you said.
No, not even then.
You could tell me how I was always your cure,
But the truth was, we were
Halfway to heaven and halfway to hell
In the driveway outside of
A halfway house.

A one hit wonder
A single rhyme all that he could create
History, a golden oldie, fossilized and lost in the muddy mires of mimic  

His yearn for praise waltzed over the staves
His strive for applause dropped black notes barre for barre

The rhythm of his heartbeat on percussion
Soul humming the melody
Blood and sweat running over his Martin acoustic's strings

He gave his best, he gave his all
Wonder, did you perhaps give too much?
The notes echo continually on my playlist
But his name fades with every tick of the clock

A bright white-hot flame
That shon too bright to last
Burned the remaining sheet music in the fire

'Where is he now?' I wonder
'Where is he now?'
Where are you now, Wonder?
Where are you now?

Desnuda como un yunque, mesa mía,
no admites ni una flor para tu adorno,
nada se aquieta en ti ni permanece:
el torrente infantil lo barre todo

***** tintero, blando cartapacio,
búcaro de cristal o marco de oro
hace mucho que están en las alturas
o yacen de cajones en el fondo.
Cuando me llego a ti ya voy completo:
el pensamiento musical y pronto,
estilográfica en la mano
y una hoja sale de un bolsillo o de otro,
¿Cómo será una mesa aderezada
bajo la fija claridad de un foco,
con una rosa erguida en una copa,
sin una brizna de papel o polvo?
La pluma ha de correr oleosamente
y el período o la estrofa fluir solos.
Mas ¿quién piensa en el orden un instante
bailando alrededor varios demonios
que saltan sobre ti como si fueras
en la campaña fugitivo potro?
Éste abre su libro de lectura,
ése levanta mapas policromos,
aquél corta figuras de revistas
y las pega en cuadernos ampulosos
a pinceladas de indomable engrudo
que, de paso, salpican el contorno.
Tal vez así se escriba con ventaja,
entre gritos, moquetes y sollozos,
y el cerebro agradezca el espolazo
como el fijar el hierro presuroso,
como la tierra el filo de la reja
o como el mar los remos espumosos.
Así te han puesto más de quince años
cual banco de escolares revoltosos,
que elaborando sobre ti se han ido
el verso más o menos primoroso
o la resta pueril, o el mapa alegre,
cosas de niño, de poeta y loco.
Sobre tu desnudez leo y medito
contra la tabla, persistente, el codo,
o me cruzo de brazos resignado
en la actitud cerrada del estoico.

Mesa: estés como estés, así te dejo,
ni te pulo, te lustro, ni repongo,
hemos de continuar como hasta ahora:
ya sabemos los dos que falta poco.

hay un ojo de fuego sentado en mi mesa
come las penas contagiosas
un ojo de fuego come a los compañeros contagiosos
que ordenaron a sus niñitos caer
como hombres de pie contra la muerte

un niñito era dulce como amargo arrabal
otro amaba a la reina del plata
todos ataron su corazón con mares
ninguno había leído la revolución en un libro
la revolución fue para ellos un ojo de fuego
el viento que barre a los astros
un árbol subido al pajarito más audaz

un gran amor tirando al fuego la tristeza
el mundo amargo como un arrabal
crepitaban como el esposo en la esposa
el amor no los dejaba dormir
saltaban de la noche para ir al combate
contra las injusticias insoportables
las verguenzas las humillaciones insoportables
el capitalismo no los dejaba dormir

hay un ojo de fuego en mi mesa
sirve un plato de compañeros bellos
están soñando con la gente
siempre soñaron que la gente es más alta que el sol/
siempre soñaron que la gente podía ser más alta
que el sol/
están haciendo una cuna para mecer al mundo
para abrigar calores que vendrán
para estrenar un beso sin fondo.

Vino el que yo quería
el que yo llamaba.
  No aquel que barre cielos sin defensas.
luceros sin cabañas,
lunas sin patria,
nieves.
Nieves de esas caídas de una mano,
un nombre,
un sueño,
una frente.
  No aquel que a sus cabellos
ató la muerte.
  El que yo quería.
  Sin arañar los aires,
sin herir hojas ni mover cristales.
  Aquel que a sus cabellos
ató el silencio.
  Para sin lastimarme,
cavar una ribera de luz dulce en mi pecho
y hacerme el alma navegable.

I haven't been saturated
in rain for
some time
or bathed in soapy shades
of color -
I haven't touched my hip-
bone
to a ballet barre
or even
talked to my
    mother

I haven't felt the tiny hand
   of a child touch my arm
or ran without the need for speed
    or been to my best friend's
farm

- it happened a few years ago
and I really am not sure why
I fell into a sleepy spell
between now and when you
died -
  I moved to the desert,
and I hardly said goodbye...

It's the hottest place I've ever been,
but that's not what made me dry.

Traspasada por junio,
por España y la sangre,
se levanta mi lengua
con clamor a llamarte.

Campesino que mueres,
campesino que yaces
en la tierra que siente
no tragar alemanes,
no morder italianos:
español que te abates
con la nuca marcada
por un yugo infamante,
que traicionas al pueblo
defensor de los panes:
campesino, despierta,
español, que no es tarde.

Calabozos y hierros,
calabozos y cárceles,
desventuras, presidios,
atropellos y hambres,
eso estás defendiendo,
no otra cosa más grande.
Perdición de tus hijos,
maldición de tus padres,
que doblegas tus huesos
al verdugo sangrante,
que deshonras tu trigo,
que tu tierra deshaces,
campesino, despierta,
español, que no es tarde.

Retroceden al hoyo
que se cierra y se abre,
por la fuerza del pueblo
forjador de verdades,
escuadrones del crimen,
corazones brutales,
dictadores del polvo,
soberanos voraces.

Con la prisa del fuego,
en un mágico avance,
un ejército férreo
que cosecha gigantes
los arrastra hasta el polvo,
hasta el polvo los barre.

No hay quien sitie la vida,
no hay quien cerque la sangre
cuando empuña sus alas
y las clava en el aire.

La alegría y la fuerza
de estos músculos parte
como un hondo y sonoro
manantial de volcanes.

Vencedores seremos,
porque somos titanes
sonriendo a las balas
y gritando: ¡Adelante!
La salud de los trigos
sólo aquí huele y arde.

De la muerte y la muerte
sois: de nadie y de nadie.
De la vida nosotros,
del sabor de los árboles.

Victoriosos saldremos
de las fúnebres fauces,
remontándonos libres
sobre tantos plumajes,
dominantes las frentes,
el mirar dominante,
y vosotros vencidos
como aquellos cadáveres.

Campesino, despierta,
español, que no es tarde.
A este lado de España
esperamos que pases:
que tu tierra y tu cuerpo
la invasión no se trague.

Estos poemas los desencadenaste tú,
como se desencadena el viento,
sin saber hacia dónde ni por qué.
Son dones del azar o del destino,
que a veces
la soledad arremolina o barre;
nada más que palabras que se encuentran,
que se atraen y se juntan
irremediablemente,
y hacen un ruido melodioso o triste,
lo mismo que dos cuerpos que se aman.

Enfant aux airs d'impératrice,
Colombe aux regards de faucon,
Tu me hais, mais c'est mon caprice,
De me planter sous ton balcon.

Là, je veux, le pied sur la borne,
Pinçant les nerfs, tapant le bois,
Faire luire à ton carreau morne
Ta lampe et ton front à la fois.

Je défends à toute guitare
De bourdonner aux alentours.
Ta rue est à moi : - je la barre
Pour y chanter seul mes amours,

Et je coupe les deux oreilles
Au premier racleur de jambon
Qui devant la chambre où tu veilles
Braille un couplet mauvais ou bon.

Dans sa gaine mon couteau bouge ;
Allons, qui veut de l'incarnat ?
A son jabot qui veut du rouge
Pour faire un bouton de grenat ?

Le sang dans les veines s'ennuie,
Car il est fait pour se montrer ;
Le temps est noir, gare la pluie !
Poltrons, hâtez-vous de rentrer.

Sortez, vaillants ! sortez, bravaches !
L'avant-bras couvert du manteau,
Que sur vos faces de gavaches
J'écrive des croix au couteau !

Qu'ils s'avancent ! seuls ou par bande,
De pied ferme je les attends.
A ta gloire il faut que je fende
Les naseaux de ces capitans.

Au ruisseau qui gêne ta marche
Et pourrait salir tes pieds blancs,
Corps du Christ ! je veux faire une arche
Avec les côtes des galants.

Pour te prouver combien je t'aime,
Dis, je tuerai qui tu voudras :
J'attaquerai Satan lui-même,
Si pour linceul j'ai tes deux draps.

Porte sourde ! - Fenêtre aveugle !
Tu dois pourtant ouïr ma voix ;
Comme un taureau blessé je beugle,
Des chiens excitant les abois !

Au moins plante un clou dans ta porte :
Un clou pour accrocher mon coeur.
A quoi sert que je le remporte
Fou de rage, mort de langueur ?

You...
Feel the ***** of your feet
Each step painting a tapestry
Each breath left unnoticed
Each move unrelenting...

Neither of us
Wished I were here

What should've been a revival
became default to a recital
And every pirouette
A moment none of us
Should have missed
... and I'm no better

I'd've penned you letters
Each with the broken, desperate intent
And secret hope, you'd just throw it away

But I can feel in each Poisson
As i fish for every moment you've lost
And the tilte barre
Cant fulfill your absent tomorrows
I could have staged for you
an "I'm sorry"

Now every time I hear your laugh
In playback or live from a hundred miles
Your giggles reignite in me
A flame through a negative
The moments as they might be
But here we are
And where we both were left to be