Hear say
1
it takes more than your word to
lift another sun
in a different world you must
hold your tongue
it’s a different world
mysteries lint the pockets of children
marry here, where
blackberry
falls into the river, your laughter
ripples
2
Along your favourite river rainbow trout scrape
away their scales. Under the bridge
the girl who taught your cheeks to colour
turns her love upon the finger of another.
Weigh her heart against a feather –
which one makes you laugh more?
3
A woman held
to the song’s tempo, yet
free. She gives
her self; she comes
only to go
back to another.
4
a womaniser’s petty
ambition has many influential friends
the draft that fills her night-gown
the candle that flickers over her breasts
the pillow that breathes in the scent of her hair
and one enemy
the louse on her eiderdown
she knows it is not like her man
it will not suck
every last drop of blood
5
Under your bed
a jug of water, black bread
and a bottle of vodka.
At night cigarettes taste better
and bread is more sustaining.
Sleep during the day. When you wake
there will be no fatherland, only
a house with its lights out
and stars in the pear-tree.
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