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Interruption
by Constantine P. Cavafy
Hasty and inexperienced creatures of the moment,
it's we who interrupt the action of the gods.
In the palaces of Eleusis and Phthia,
Demeter and Thetis initiate good works
over high flames and heavy smoke.
But Metaneira always bursts in
from the royal quarters, hair loose, terrified,
and Peleus always gets scared and intervenes.
Translated from the Greek by Edmund Keeley &
Philip Sherrard
In the evening
by Constantine P. Cavafy
It wouldn't have lasted long anyway-
years of experience make that clear.
But Fate did put an end to it a bit abruptly.
It was soon over, that wonderful life.
Yet how strong the scents were,
what a magnificent bed we lay in,
what pleasures we gave our bodies.
An echo from my days of indulgence,
an echo from those days came back to me,
something from the fire of the young life we shared:
I picked up a letter again,
read it over and over till the light faded.
Then, sad, I went out on to the balcony,
went out to change my thoughts at least by seeing
something of this city I love,
a little movement in the streets, in the shops.
Translated from the Greek by Edmund Keeley &
Philip Sherrard
Half An Hour
by Constantine P. Cavafy
I never had you nor, I suppose,
will I ever have you. A few words, an approach,
as in the bar yesterday -nothing more.
It's sad, I admit. But we who serve Art,
sometimes with the mind's intensity
can create pleasure that seems almost physical-
but of course only for a short time.
That's how in the bar yesterday-
mercifully helped by alcohol-
I had half an hour that was totally erotic.
And I think you understood this
and stayed slightly longer on purpose.
That too was very necessary.
Because with all the imagination,
all the magic alcohol,
I needed to see your lips as well,
needed your body near me.
Translated from the Greek by Edmund Keeley &
Philip Sherrard
The Rhine River
by Abby Orenstein
Glistens like a 13 year old's face
On an August morning
It's the sparkling sun
It's baking bread underwater
Fishies circling impatiently
checking their waterproof watches
Glows like a nighttime bug in grass
chased by a girl in soggy socks
Boats crumbling through
they cannot contest the glitter
of the river
You meet a man with a face of a metal gate
says he's lived on the bank
resting in a wicker chair
year on year
drinking hot water and beer
Kat nap's
by Jeremy Paige
The top of my head opens and out you go,
floating in dreamshaped colors of pink and blonde
into the sunset.
streets look on fire, soon extinguished by
the moon.Wandering.Listening.It's late. I lie in the sand,
smoking, feeling the cool uneven ground beneath,
pretending my end will be like this...
feeling the stars move through you
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What I love most in this world
(anonymous: Romanian-Gypsy folklore, song)
What I love most in this world;
A black horse full of life
A Dobrogean buggy
And an Ardelean wife
Green leaf and a neigh
If I had it go my way
All that I love would be mine
And I’d die on my own time
What I love most in this world;
The path through the woods
Blanketed with hazelnuts
Blanketed with hazelnuts
A tiny hazelnuts lawn
My frothing horse to trample on.
Translated from the Romanian by the editor
Blue Woman
(anonymous: American folklore)
When a woman blue, when a woman blue,
She hang her head an' cry.
When a woman blue, when a woman blue,
She hang her head an' cry.
When a man gits blue
He grab a railroad truck an' ride.
Gwineter lay my head, gwineter lay my head,
Down on some railroad line.
Gwineter lay my head, gwineter lay my head,
Down on some railroad line.
Let de train roll by
An' pacify my min'.
I had a little pony
(anonymous – old English nursery rhyme)
I had a little pony,
His name was Apple-Gray,
I lent him to a lady,
To ride a mile away;
She whipped him, she slashed him,
She rode him through the mire;
I would not lend my pony now
For all the lady's hire.
My father died a month ago
(anonymous – old English nursery rhyme)
My father died a month ago
And left me all his riches;
A feather bed, and a wooden leg,
And a pair of leather breeches.
He left me a teapot without a spout,
A cup without a handle,
A tobacco pipe without a lid,
And half a farthing candle.
Blue Notebook #2
by Daniil Kharms
Once there was a redheaded man without eyes and without
ears. He had no hair either,
so that he was a redhead was just something they said.
He could not speak, for he had no mouth. He had no nose either.
He didn't even have arms or legs. He had no stomach either, and he had
no back, and he
had no spine, and no intestines of any kind. He didn't have anything
at all. So it is hard
to understand whom we are really talking about.
So it is probably best not to talk about him any more.
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